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August 2010
United Arab Emirates NEW MARITIME LAWS IN THE PIPELINE 26 July 2010: The Federal Government is in the process of reshaping its shipping registry and maritime laws, with the primary objective to bring more locally owned vessels under its jurisdiction and boost the nation’s shipping sector. The National Transport Authority has drafted the proposed amendments and submitted them to the Minister for review, with the expectation that the amendments may enter into force by the end of 2010. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF ETHICS APPROVED 27 July 2010: His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved a Code of Professional Ethics which documents professional behaviour and guidelines to be adhered to by employees working in the Federal governmental sector. The Code has identified 13 key core values which are to characterise the work and services performed by all members in the federal private sector. DUBAI TO ESTABLISH ALTERNATIVE STOCK MARKET 20 July 2010: Dubai is considering establishing an alternative stock market for small-to-medium sized firms, in a move to create more exit options for the region's private equity sector. This initiative, as confirmed by the chief economist of DIFC, is seeking to create a second-tier market which allows smaller and mostly higher risk companies to float their shares by lowering the regulatory threshold in comparison to the primary market. EMCREDIT DECREE PROMULGATED 3 July 2010: A new Decree (No.8 of 2010) concerning Emcredit has now been issued and published in the Official Gazette. The Decree was issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, which aims to establish a robust and secure credit reporting infrastructure to bolster stability to the financial services industry, and to provide lenders with the necessary information to support sound lending decisions. GREEN BUILDINGS GUIDE APPROVED IN DUBAI 7 July 2010: The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved the Green Buildings Guide in the UAE. The guide contains general rules on the application of green building standards on new government projects implemented by the Ministry of Public Works, which aims to increase levels of environmental safety and establish clear and certified standards for green buildings in the country. This comes in accordance with the strategic directions of the Federal Government aimed at achieving environmental sustainability. TRA ANNOUNCES NEW ANTI-SPAM REGULATORY POLICY 6 July 2010: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has announced the issue of a new policy which came into force in July 2010. Pursuant to the new policy, consumers will receive messages from their service providers to seek the customers’ express consent to receive SMS marketing messages. This policy aims to alleviate recent concerns concerning the volume of unwanted messages received by users in the UAE from a range of sources seeking to deliver advertising messages via SMS. ABU DHABI ANNOUNCES NEW HOUSING POLICY 20 July 2010: The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council has announced that middle income units in the multi-unit residential buildings in Abu Dhabi must be rented out for a minimum period of 10 years. The middle-income rental housing policy also directs that multi-unit residential buildings will be required to allocate 20% of the residential gross floor area to the middle income group, as well as mandating the minimum floor areas for the different accommodation types including studios, one bedroom apartments, two bedrooms and three plus bedroom apartments. Bahrain BAHRAIN CONFIRMS NO PLANS TO STOCK MARKET 1 July 2010: The Central Bank Chairman has confirmed the absence of any short-term plans to sell shares in the Bahrain Stock Exchange. The stock exchange is under the process of conversion from a government department into a commercial company to ensure it that operates on a commercial basis and subject to the direction of a management team which achieves higher performance standards, with the objective of encouraging higher trading volumes. Kuwait PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE MERITS OF NEW ONLINE PUBLISHING LAW 12 July 2010: The Information Ministry of Kuwait has announced that a new law concerning electronic publishing is set to be submitted to the Parliament for debate. The Information Ministry is currently coordinating with the relevant communication authorities to ensure that the law's technical elements will be practical and appropriate for introduction into the country’s legal framework. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES APPLIED 12 July 2010: New measures have been introduced to reduce incidents of money laundering and smuggling in the country. As part of these measures, any person travelling to or from Kuwait and who carries more than KD 3,000 in cash or valuables without accompanying declarations, risks liability for money-laundering charges. Oman OMAN PLACES $260MN 5YR GOVT DEVELOPMENT BONDS 20 July 2010: The Sultanate of Oman has placed 100 million Riyals in domestic development bonds with a term of 5 years. The Central Bank Chairman confirmed that the bonds, issued on 26 July 2010 and carrying a coupon of 4%, is expected to raise a total of $316.9 to replace the same amount of debt maturing in November 2010. Qatar QATAR REACTIVATES CELL TO PROBE BOUNCED CHEQUES 11 June 2010: A new resolution has been announced, upon a recommendation from the Advisory Council, to order the reactivation of a special police cell which investigates complaints in relation to cheques rejected by banks for insufficient funds. This resolution follows the Cabinet’s recent order to establish two dedicated courts to resolve cases involving bounced cheques, and is hoped to relieve the volume of cases which are referred to these dedicated Courts for resolution. Saudi Arabia NEW SAUDI MORTGAGE LAW IN THE PIPELINE 6 July 2010: Saudi Arabia's new mortgage law is currently under consideration by the Shura Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. The Secretary-General of the Shura Council, Dr Muhammed Al Ghamdi, has confirmed that the Council had established a special committee comprising six members to study the proposed new legislation. The implementation of the Saudi mortgage law is expected to increase demand for housing by around 50%. SAUDI ARABIA AND YEMEN SIGN CONSUMER PROTECTION AGREEMENT 25 July 2010: Saudi Arabia and Yemen have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance consumer protection in connection with trade between the two States. The agreement falls in the backdrop of the need to combat the increasing presence of counterfeited goods which are delivered into Saudi Arabia from the Yemeni border. SHORT TERM SUKUKS SET TO INCREASE 19 July 2010: The successful sale of a corporate Sukuk with a term of 9 months is thought to encourage similar Islamic bond issues in Saudi Arabia, where access to longer term financing is constricted. HSBC's Saudi affiliate advised and managed the $187mn Sukuk for the private construction company Saudi Bin Ladin Group, constituting the Kingdom's first short-term sukuk issue with a maturity of less than three years. | |||
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