Al Tamimi & Company's is pleased to announce that through the legal advisory and on-ground assistance of the Al Tamimi Kuwait office, American IT giant IBM has received the first license to establish a 100% foreign owned Kuwait entity under Kuwait's recently implemented Law No. 116 of 2013 (the "Direct Investment Law"). Al Tamimi's Kuwait office assisted with submission of the first two applications for investment licenses to Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority's ("KDIPA") shortly after KDIPA launched its operations. Upon receiving KDIPA's approval of IBM 's investment application, Al Tamimi's Kuwait office worked hand in hand with KDIPA, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and IBM to establish the first wholly foreign owned (100%) sole person company in Kuwait. This is a landmark transaction for Kuwait and groundbreaking for the region as investment licenses issued by KDIPA allows the holder to establish foreign wholly owned Kuwaiti entities such as sole person companies, limited liability companies and shareholding companies as well to establish braches of foreign companies or representative offices.
Alex Saleh, partner and head of Al Tamimi & Company's Kuwait office stated, "This is a very exciting time for Kuwait and for foreign investors seeking to conduct business here. In the past few years, there have been a number of new laws passed that have put Kuwait on the commercial regulatory forefront while making it easier and more attractive for both locals and foreigners to conduct business in Kuwait." Mr. Saleh continued to state, "We have been working with IBM for many years and they continually expressed interested in establishing a company in Kuwait, so when the Direct Investment Law was issued, it seemed to be the right option to pursue. We are very happy for IBM and KDIPA on this landmark achievement." The Al Tamimi team was led by Head of Office and Partner, Alex Saleh, Associate Sonia A. Salah and Paralegal Rafat Zaki.
Philip Kotsis, a partner at Al Tamimi & Company commenting on the notable establishment stated that, "The KDIPA license granted to IBM is a milestone event and the first of its kind here in Kuwait. We are very honored to have been part of this remarkable process bringing large foreign investors to Kuwait and enabling them to operate as fully foreign owned Kuwaiti companies. Given the great volume of interest and the dedication by KDIPA to make this program successful, we envisage many large scale companies being able to establish and operate in Kuwait."
Al Tamimi & Company's Kuwait Office have been working with KDIPA (and its predecessor KFIB) very closely to attract foreign investment and to assist investors interested in establishing a Kuwaiti entity under the Direct Investment Law. Earlier this year, Al Tamimi held a joint seminar in Dubai, the seminar focused on educating foreign investors and introducing them to the new law recently passed by KDIPA.
Al Tamimi & Company's Kuwait office is headed by Partner & Head of Office, Alex Saleh and operates through its joint venture with Kuwaiti lawyer Yaqoub Yousef Al Munayae. Al Tamimi & Company was established in 1989 and is the largest law firm in the Middle East. The firm has 16 offices in 9 countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain.
