What Saudi laws should I be aware of when making investments in a
property construction project in Mecca, Saudi Arabia? |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
07 Nov 2005 19:13 PST
Please have a look at this recent US government report on the climate
for foreign investment in Saudi Arabia:
http://www.buyusainfo.net/docs/x_8459896.pdf
This is an up-to-date and fairly comprehensive overview of the
investment situation for foreigners vis a vis Saudi Arabia.
Let me know if it meets your needs. And if not, please let me know
what additional information you need to make for a complete answer to
your question.
Thanks,
pafalafa-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
09 Nov 2005 19:28 PST
kopite-ga,
Just checking in to see if you've had a chance to look over the report
I mentioned earlier (see the link, above)?
Let me know your thoughts on it, if you have the chance.
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
kopite-ga
on
11 Nov 2005 06:07 PST
Hi, sorry for the late reply and only had a cursory look at the link
you kindly posted. I'm going to be tied up till the 15th, so you will
not hear from me till then.But from what I see the link is not what
I'm looking for.
What I'm looking for come in 2 stages: 1) specific laws in Saudi
regarding property investments and 2) whether there has been
commentaries made on such laws.
For example, Saudi is a kingdom, laws are decrees from the King (that
much I know lol). There is a law that says no one can own property in
Mecca but you can lease them. That's a major concern for an investor
(because you can't own the property). I would like to know whether
there has been any problems with that for example if it also applies
in Riyadh? Ofcourse that's just one law that I know of, I'm looking
for others that would make an investor aware of the dangers or
concerns if any when investing in a project in Saudi.
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Clarification of Question by
kopite-ga
on
11 Nov 2005 06:08 PST
Sorry, I meant Mecca, Saudi (not just Saudi in general)
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
11 Nov 2005 08:56 PST
kopite-ga,
Thanks for the update, and I look forward to hearing from you again
when you're back after the 15th.
It used to be the case that it was illegal for a non-Saudi to own
private property in the country, But in the past few years, several
laws have been passed which have greatly relaxed these prohibitions.
Foreigners now CAN have 100% ownership of private property throughout
Saudi Arabia.
There are still some limits to all this, though, and I have found a
site that lays out the details of the new laws, and describes pretty
clearly what is, and isn't, allowed.
There's some discussion of all this in the State Department report
that I linked to earlier, as well.
Beyond that, though, these laws are so recent, and foreign ownership
of private property is such a new experience, that there isn't much in
the way of "commentary" on the laws, or some on-the-ground stories of
experiences of different investors.
I'm certainly happy to round up all the information I can, and present
it here as an answer to your question.
However, I didn't want to raise expectations of reams and reams of
information. Private property ownership by foreigners DOES have
clearcut national laws in Saudi Arabia that lay out the do's and
don't's, but it DOESN'T yet have a long history of experiences to fall
back on.
Let me know what you think,
pafalafa-ga
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Clarification of Question by
kopite-ga
on
27 Nov 2005 17:51 PST
Hi, again my apologies for the late reply. I'd appreciate any info
relating to what are the applicable Saudi laws when it comes to
investing in a property project. Basically the answer to the question
of (for example) - if I want to build a hotel in Saudi using my own
capital, what laws should I be aware of. I know of Saudi's Foreign
Capital Investment Law introduced in 2000, but that's about all. I'm
not expecting "reams of info" lol, but commentary on Saudi law would
be helpful for example, 'Saudi have law XYZ on property investment but
the local court recently held that the law does not apply for
(whatever reason)'- which would make an investor more aware of what's
on the ground. It's not compulsory to get commentaries in this case,
but if you manage to get it I'll put in the appropriate additional
tip. Hope that clarifies, and pls let me wish you a belated
Thanksgiving ;)
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Clarification of Question by
kopite-ga
on
27 Nov 2005 17:57 PST
One more thing that may help, I'm aware of a Harvard Professor, Frank
Vogel who has keen interest in Saudi but I've not been able to locate
any of his writings on the subject online.
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