IDEX, NAVDEX Witness 11 Deals Worth $1.2 Bn

Saudi pavilion at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi pavilion at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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IDEX, NAVDEX Witness 11 Deals Worth $1.2 Bn

Saudi pavilion at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi pavilion at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

UAE's Tawazun Council signed 11 deals worth $1.2 billion with local and international companies at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defense Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2023.

Tawazun is an independent government entity that works closely with the Ministry of Defense and security agencies to maximize value through acquisition systems.

Spokesman of Tawazun Zayed al-Meraikhi said the Council signed a contract worth $582 million with Halcon, a subsidiary of Edge Group, to procure Thunder P3 system and a $21.2 million contract with Maplin Marine Systems & Services to provide vessels' technical support services.

It also signed a $12.2 million contract with Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar LLC to provide technical support services on caterpillar vehicles.

Another spokesman for the Council, Majed al-Jaberi, said that five international deals were signed during the first day of the two exhibitions, amounting to $598 million, including contracts with Indonesian, French, US, and German companies.

For his part, Saeed Al Mansoori, CEO of Capital Events, a subsidiary of ADNEC Group, said that this year's edition was the biggest since the inception of the exhibition three decades ago.

Mansoori indicated that 65 countries are participating in this year's edition, a ten percent over the previous years, with 41 national pavilions, with a growth rate of 17 percent compared to 2021.

The two exhibitions included the participation of more than 367 official international delegations, including nine new countries participating for the first time.

Meanwhile, Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) launched the Kingdom's pavilion at IDEX in Abu Dhabi.

GAMI Governor Ahmed al-Ohali inaugurated the pavilion, which is expected to increase the authority's outreach.

Ohali confirmed that the Saudi participation is witnessing a qualitative involvement of partners in the sector, such as the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Investment, the World Defense Show, and various prominent companies and institutions operating in the military and security industries.

He explained that this participation represents a qualitative platform to develop the industry in the sector by creating partnerships, exchanging knowledge and expertise, and transferring technology.

The official said the defense and national security sectors are vital for Saudi Arabia, adding that the Kingdom aims to localize various industries that could boost the national economy.

Ohali added that the Kingdom's participation in the exhibition aims to support investors, facilitate their entry into the Saudi military and security industries market, and introduce promising investment opportunities.

The military industries sector system seeks to achieve the strategic goal of localizing more than 50 percent of the defense expenditure by 2030.



Saudi Arabia Enacts Reforms to Boost Business Climate, Investment Appeal

Riyadh (SPA)
Riyadh (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Enacts Reforms to Boost Business Climate, Investment Appeal

Riyadh (SPA)
Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia will enforce two major regulatory frameworks, the Law of Commercial Register and Law of Trade Names, starting Thursday, marking a significant overhaul of its business registration process.

The reforms are part of the kingdom’s ongoing efforts to modernize its regulatory environment, create a more business-friendly ecosystem, and strengthen its position as a global investment hub in line with Vision 2030.

Approved by the Saudi government on Sept. 17, the new laws represent a major regulatory shift aimed at empowering investors, facilitating business growth, and unlocking investment opportunities nationwide.

They form part of a broader, ongoing regulatory transformation designed to enhance transparency, improve the business climate, and align with the kingdom’s economic and technological advancements.

Commerce Minister Majid Al-Kassabi said the Cabinet’s approval of the laws aims to streamline business operations and ease the burden on enterprises by consolidating their registration into a single nationwide record.

The new framework also standardizes the reservation and registration of trade names to protect and enhance their value, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s economic and technological advancements under Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia ranks 62nd out of 190 economies in the World Bank's latest annual Ease of Doing Business index.

Ministry of Commerce official spokesperson Abdulrahman Al-Hussein noted that the new commercial register law introduces major changes.

Among the key changes are the elimination of subsidiary registers, with a single commercial register now being sufficient. Additionally, the law removes the requirement to specify the city of registration, allowing one commercial registration to apply across all regions of the Kingdom.

The new law also obligated commercial establishments in Saudi Arabia to open bank accounts linked to the establishment in order to enhance its reliability and ensure the integrity of its transactions.

In addition, the law cancels the expiration date for the commercial register, requiring only an annual confirmation of the data, the spokesman stated.

Under the law, the commercial registration number will serve as the establishment’s unified number, starting with (7).

The ministry will grant existing subsidiary registers a five-year grace period to rectify their status in accordance with the new regulations.

Meanwhile, the new Law of Trade Names in Saudi Arabia, which consists of 23 articles, aims to regulate the procedures for reserving and recording names in the commercial register, maximizing their value, and protecting them and their rights.

The law allows a trade name to be reserved before it is recorded for a specific period that can be extended. It also sets the requirements that must be met by trade names to be registered or reserved, and the criteria for prohibited names.

Al-Hussein explained that the new regulations also allow for the reservation and registration of trade names in English, including letters or numbers.

This marks a departure from the previous law, which permitted only Arabic names without foreign characters or numbers.

The new law will enable the management of trade names independently from the establishment, allowing for the transfer of their ownership while prohibiting the registration of identical or similar names for different establishments in Saudi Arabia, even if their activities differ.

Al-Hussein noted that the law also includes regulations for reserving family names as trade names and establishes criteria for prohibited or misleading names.