KUWAIT Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Khaled Al Makhezeem and Liana Rashid, GLA & Company
GLA & Company Arraya Tower II 36th and 37th Floors Al Shuhada Street Sharq Kuwait Tel: +965 669 55516/+971 54 997 4040 Email: alex.saleh@glaco.com Web: www.glaco.com
1. Legislation and Enforcing Authorities 1.1 Merger Control Legislation Merger control issues in Kuwait are governed by Law No 72 of 2020 (which came into force on 1 November 2020) and its regulations, ratified by the Kuwait Com - petition Protection Agency (the “Kuwait CPA”) under: • Resolutions No 14 of 2021; • Resolutions No 25 of 2022; • Resolutions No 32 of 2026; • Resolutions No 33 of 2026; and • Resolutions No 40 of 2026. Law No 72 of 2020 and its regulations are together referred to as the “Kuwait Competition Law”. The Kuwait Competition Law repealed its predecessor, Law No 10 of 2007 and expanded on the governing rules that impact competition in the State of Kuwait. The Kuwait Competition Law does not prejudice the international treaties and agreements in force in the State of Kuwait. This means that those treaties and agreements with the Kuwaiti government supersede any provisions that would otherwise apply pursuant to the Kuwait Competition Law. 1.2 Legislation Relating to Particular Sectors In addition to the Kuwait Competition Law, the fol - lowing apply. • The executive by-laws of the Kuwait Capital Mar - kets Authority (the “Kuwait CMA”). These include particular disclosure requirements and other
restrictions impacting transactions that are also subject to the Kuwait Competition Law. The Kuwait CMA governs companies that: (a) are listed on the Kuwait stock exchange (the Boursa); or (b) carry licences, such as investing, which are governed by the Kuwait CMA. • The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) governs certain activities of financial institutions in Kuwait and maintains its own set of regulations that must be complied with when a transaction involves a bank or other financial institution regulated by the CBK. 1.3 Enforcement Authorities The Kuwait CPA is an independent body established under the Kuwait Competition Law and supervised by the Kuwait Minister of Commerce and Industry. The Kuwait CPA is the sole body responsible for review - ing and approving applications for economic concen - trations or other anti-competitive practices. It is also solely responsible for enforcing the Kuwait Competi - tion Law.
2. Jurisdiction 2.1 Notification
The Kuwait Competition Law requires that an appli - cation be submitted to the Kuwait CPA by persons involved in economic concentrations within at least 60 days of the date of the contract or agreement regard - ing the transaction, provided the economic concen - tration meets specific thresholds established by the Kuwait CPA. The application must be submitted to the
371 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook