KUWAIT Law and Practice Contributed by: Sam Habbas, Luis Cunha, Hisham Al-Quraan and Mustafa Sayed, ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners
branch activities must be covered under the rel - evant GCC entity’s licensed activities. • The establishment of a GCC branch in Kuwait should be completed within one to two months from the date all required documents are submitted to the MOCI. Generally, the documents required for submission are the MOCI establishment appli - cation form, the constitutional documents of the foreign entity and the details of its partners/ shareholders. The identification documents must be attested and legalised at the Kuwaiti Embassy in the country of issuance and then attested and legalised in Kuwait before being submitted to the MOCI. Requirements to Obtain an Investment Licence From KDIPA To qualify for an investment licence under the FDIL, the foreign entity has to satisfy certain special require - ments set out in the FDIL and its executive regula - tions. As a key factor, the foreign entity has to demon - strate that its activities will benefit Kuwait as a whole and satisfy the criteria set out in Article 29 of the FDIL (that the activities will result in the transfer of technol - ogy, modern methods of governance and practical/ technical experience to Kuwait; create employment opportunities and training for national labour; enhance the use of national products, etc). KDIPA will also take into account 15 sub-criteria pursuant to Decision No 329 of 2019, which elaborates on the criteria as set out in Article 29. The steps to obtain the investment licence are as fol - lows. • Application request: the submission of the applica - tion request online through the KDIPA portal is the first formal step in the application to be licensed under the FDIL. The application request should briefly summarise the proposed investment/project that the foreign party wishes to undertake in Kuwait under the FDIL. Once the application request is finalised and submitted, KDIPA will review the application and will typically respond to the appli - cant within two/three business days regarding the success of the preliminary application. • Formal application: if KDIPA believes that the investment/project as set out in the application
request complies with and addresses the points required under the FDIL, the applicant will proceed to the second stage of the application process. As part of this process, the applicant will have to sub - mit an application form appropriate to the vehicle it will use to pursue the project. • Consultation: KDIPA and the relevant applicant discuss and consult on the application and the supporting documents (which will include a busi - ness study/plan); KDIPA may require additional information on particular aspects of the project that should be addressed. • Consideration: once the application and business study are finalised and formally submitted along with the attested, legalised and translated consti - tutional documents of the applicant, KDIPA is to respond to the applicant within 30 days regarding the success or failure of the application. • KDIPA approval and investment licence: if the application is approved, the necessary formal steps to give effect to the investment/project are put in place, and an investment licence is issued by KDIPA following the completion of the incorpo - ration process and the issue of the trading licence by the MOCI. If the application is rejected, a written explanation will be given. The applicant may chal - lenge this decision within 30 days. 2.3 Commitments Required From Foreign Investors Certain commitments may be required by KDIPA in order for it to issue an investment licence, as set out under 2.2 Procedure to Obtain Approval and Sanc- tions for Non-Compliance . Such commitments are typically agreed on the basis of the relevant business plan. If the agreed commitments are not adhered to, this may have an impact on the investor’s licence and the benefits being enjoyed under the FDIL. 2.4 Right to Appeal See 2.2 Procedure to Obtain Approval and Sanctions for Non-Compliance .
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