Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Kuwait

Abstract

This article will focus on legal considerations applicable to foreign companies seeking to conduct business in Kuwait. Despite all that has happened since 2 August 1990, as a technical matter the laws of Kuwait effective on that date have remained on the books and in force throughout the crisis. Clearly, many exceptions are being made to the laws in order to meet the needs of the current emergency conditions and reconstruction efforts, and clearly some changes to the laws may be forthcoming once the situation has stabilised further. In the meantime, however, the law of Kuwait today remains generally the same as the law of Kuwait prior to the invasion of Kuwait, and therefore provides the principal basis for the following discussion of legal aspects of doing business in Kuwait. Section II of this article touches briefly on tLhe sources of law in Kuwait, and then outlines the basic licensing requirements for the conduct of business. Section III proceeds to discuss the various forms of doing business in Kuwait, including subsections on agency (subsection A), the several business entities in which the foreign party may participate (subsections B, C, and D), and the joint venture contractual arrangement (subsection E). Sections IV to X briefly address other matters of general interest for foreign companies seeking to do business in Kuwait, including repstration and licensing, tender procedures, taxation, import and export, industrial investment, Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") initiatives, and labour and immigration.