(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Plans for a law to allow full foreign ownership of companies outside free zones in strategic sectors are at an advanced stage, the Minister of Economy said.
At a the Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai on Monday, Sultan Al Mansouri promised a new "law of Foreign Direct Investment that allows 100 per cent ownership in some sectors outside free zones," reported a local daily.
The law is intended to encourage innovation and technology transfer. It will likely require foreign companies that are granted 100 per cent ownership rights to provide support or expertise to sectors identified by the government as strategically important. It would only apply to some industry sectors.
The Ministry of Economy declined to state which sectors would see a relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions, and did not say when the law would be introduced.
A first draft of the law has been approved by a Ministry of Justice committee, and the Cabinet. It will now be redrafted by the Ministry of Justice, before it is sent to the Federal National Council and the Cabinet for approval.
"It's a strategy we believe could work and if this is implemented we suspect the focus sectors would likely to be around social infrastructure, such as education and healthcare, where there is a pressing need for greater foreign investment," said Murad Abida, regional head of corporate, at DLA Piper.
Mr Al Mansouri said that the forthcoming Companies Law and Commercial Arbitration Law should also make the regulatory environment more friendly for foreign investors.
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