UAE- Restructuring, bankruptcy law in focus at DEC conference 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) A two-day global policy conference will be discussing lessons learned from best practices worldwide in financial restructuring and bankruptcy law.

Enttled "Towards a Legal Regulation of Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy for Sustainable Economic Development", the two-day conference is being organised by the Dubai Economic Council, or DEC, in partnership with the Commercial Law Development Programme of the US Department of Commerce. It will be held in Dubai on May 14 and 15.

DEC secretary-general Hani Al Hamli said that the derived lessons would be further utilised to refine the proposed Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy draft law that the government of the UAE is seeking to launch while taking into consideration the economic, legal, and social characteristics of the country.

Talking about the aim of the conference, Al Hamli said it is to raise awareness about legal policy topics related to financial restructuring and bankruptcy law, to highlight best practices and their applicability in the UAE and Dubai, to strengthen institutional capabilities of the entities concerned and to encourage the business community to learn how to benefit from the law.

This will eventually help in strengthening the country's legal infrastructure and enhancing the business environment in order to drive sustainable economic growth in the UAE, he added.

He expressed hope that the message of the conference transcends beyond the local level to a regional sphere.

He pointed out that the GCC countries still lack an effective law for financial restructuring and bankruptcy which strongly affected - along with other factors - the attractiveness of investment prospects in these countries and therefore missed opportunities of growth.

The importance of this law is tremendous as it reassures foreign and local investors' protection in case of defaults and difficulties in fulfilling their obligations towards the creditors, he added.

He said that the system of bankruptcy in the region is focused on improving the investment climate and eliminating obstacles in doing business while the issue of how to process bankruptcy cases without a court detour is relegated to the back burner.