Al-Tamimi & Co. hosts investment forum

Wajdy M. Al-Ghabban, CEO of Saudi Airlines Catering, right, received the award.

Al-Tamimi & Co., the largest law firm in the Middle East, recently hosted its first bespoke forum in Saudi Arabia under the theme “Foreign Investments in KSA.”
It offered industry leaders an opportunity to attend discussions on the changing economic and legislative landscape in the Kingdom, as part of Vision 2030.
As Saudi Arabia undergoes extensive business, economic and social developments, Al-Tamimi & Co. organized the event to focus on best practices related to legal compliance for businesses operating and looking to enter the Saudi market.
Panelists were Khalid Abdullah Al-Hussan, CEO, Saudi Stock Exchange; Ibrahim Al-Suwail, deputy governor of investor services, SAGIA and Ahmed Kattan, deputy minister of labor policy.
With almost 200 industry professionals in attendance, the seminar hosted three panel sessions which included insights from Al-Tamimi & Co.’s Saudi legal experts alongside renowned business leaders and specialists from various fields. These prominent figures, from both the public and private sectors discussed key facets of privatization, including the framework necessary to attract foreign investment for privatization.
Deliberations also took place on how businesses can set up their presence in the Kingdom and the importance of implementing robust cybersecurity measures to prevent cybercrime.
Al-Hussan said his organization has implemented reforms to ensure a secure, transparent and efficient market that is aligned with global market standards and practices.
“We have been facilitating the participation of international investors in the Saudi market and expanding access to international investors through the Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) program in cooperation with the CMA (Capital Markets Authority), which was launched in 2015 and continuously updated since then to further ease qualification requirements.”
Al-Suwail said: “If we compare foreign investments in 2016, 2017 and 2018, we notice a definitive growth over the past 15 months. This includes direct investments from foreign entities, the opening of international branches of organizations in the Kingdom and the strengthening of partnerships between local and foreign companies.”
Essam Al-Tamimi, Al-Tamimi & Company’s founding partner, said: “Our firm has over 10 years’ experience in the Kingdom. We have grown to establish a deep-rooted understanding of the legal and legislative developments within the Kingdom to support clients across various sectors.”
Grahame Nelson, Al-Tamimi’s KSA head, said: “As new and improved legislation is injected into the Kingdom’s business infrastructure, it has become vital that organizations are aware, as well as prepared to adopt and comply, in order to succeed.”