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November 15, 2007 was a date that slipped quietly by. This was the date that Federal Law No. 17 of 2004 concerning Commercial Concealment was to come into effect, but a further year’s grace appears to have been granted. Some observers have indicated that this law would criminalise the widely held practice of shareholder side agreements between UAE national and expatriate shareholders in a limited liability company. This came at a time when the new UAE Minister of Economy, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, stated that the revised Commercial Companies Law was due out soon, quite probably providing for 100% foreign ownership in certain sectors of the economy – a privilege presently granted only in the UAE’s free zones, but which comes with certain operational restrictions. The hoped for revisions to the Commercial Companies Law cannot come too early if the Commercial Concealment Law is to come into effect next year as this could cause quite a disruption to business.
Another issue that seems to be causing concern across all business sectors is the attraction and retention of good quality staff. With both the growth in existing companies and the influx of new companies due to the economic boom in the UAE, competition for such personnel is hotting up and very often it is those with the deepest corporate pockets that are able to grab the best. This is combined with the very often traditional sources of recruitment becoming harder to source from as the gaps between remuneration packages in various countries narrow making it less attractive to move abroad.
In this issue we have the pleasure of interviewing Raju Shroff of Regal Traders group of companies. We also have articles on the impeding clarification from the International Accounting Standards Board on real estate sales, a very pertinent issue in the UAE and on the usefulness of business plans, something we are seeing more of as companies are seeking ways to expand in a competitive market.
We also have our usual offshore and free zone updates.
Please feel free to write (update@pkfuae.com) if you would like to express an opinion on any matter inside.
GRAHAM MARTINS
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