UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Khaled Abu Orabi and Khaled al-Khashab, GLA & Company
2.5 Jurisdictional Thresholds Cabinet Resolution No 3 of 2025 sets the applicable thresholds for dominant position and economic con - centration operations. A dominant position is established where the share of an undertaking, individually or jointly with other undertakings, exceeds 40% of total transactions in the relevant market. For economic concentration operations, an applica - tion for approval is required where either of the follow - ing thresholds is met: the total annual sales value of the relevant undertak- ings in the relevant market within the UAE during the last fiscal year exceeds AED300 million; or the total share of the relevant undertakings exceeds 40% of total transactions in the relevant market within the UAE during the last fiscal year. 2.6 Calculations of Jurisdictional Thresholds The 2026 Competition Regulations prescribe signifi - cant information requirements for economic concen - tration filings, including three years of audited financial statements, market studies, competitors’ sales and market shares, customer dealings, affected markets, positive effects, proposed commitments, consumer price, quality and availability effects, geographic scope and related transactions during the previous three years. However, they still do not prescribe a comprehensive methodology for calculating jurisdic - tional thresholds, including currency conversion and whether values should be assessed on a book or fair- market basis. The absence of case law could be justified by: • the high jurisdictional thresholds are not usually met by the undertakings based or doing business in the UAE and do not therefore require any filings or notifications requesting exemptions; • the huge volume of “economic concentration” transactions and activities taking place in finan - cial free zones, such as the ADGM or the DIFC, is exempted from the UAE Competition Legislation;
• many of the undertakings are carrying out activities that are categorised as exempted activities and enterprises; and • the multiple incentives provided by the UAE government to promote the UAE as a regional hub, leading to some of the regulatory restrictions usually found in developed markets being relaxed, which, at the same time, will not apply to the UAE, which is considered one of the most competitive emerging markets in the Gulf and Middle East region. 2.7 Businesses/Corporate Entities Relevant for the Calculation of Jurisdictional Thresholds It is important to clarify that an “undertaking” is defined under the Competition Law as “any natural or legal person conducting an economic activity or any person in connection with such persons or any grouping of these persons, regardless of their legal form”. No other definitions are contained in the UAE Competition Legislation with regard to corporate enti - ties, individuals or group-wide. This means that an “undertaking” meeting the thresh - old could be the “undertaking” directly involved in the “economic concentration” transaction or activity or it could be a parent or holding company based outside the UAE. Strictly speaking, the “undertaking” that is directly carrying out an “economic concentration” transaction or activity in a “relevant market”, whether based inside or outside the UAE, which meets the jurisdictional threshold as an entity and not as a group, will have to notify the Competition Department that is requesting an exemption. However, if we apply the same principles used in the EU, the calculation of the jurisdictional thresh - olds should be carried out after consolidating the group’s overall transaction turnover, rather than just the “undertaking” that is a party to the transaction. Unfortunately, due to the absence of case law and regulatory guidance on the calculation methodology, it is unclear whether the Competition Department will strictly follow the wording of the Competition Law or
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