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The UAE’s Push to Reduce Reliance on the Strait of Hormuz: What It Means for Businesses

The UAE is accelerating efforts to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for trade and energy exports. Reported comments by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, referred to an ambition to move toward “zero Hormuz dependency.” In practical terms, the strategy appears aimed at reducing exposure to

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Mediation in the UAE: A Faster and More Cost-Effective Alternative to Litigation

For most companies operating in the UAE, a commercial dispute is not a legal event. It is a business problem. A delayed supplier, a defaulting distributor, or a joint venture partner reading the same contract clause a different way can freeze cash flow and stall operations for months. The traditional responses, onshore court litigation or

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Drafting Commercial Contracts in the UAE: Risks, Pitfalls, and Best Practices

The UAE has built its reputation as one of the world’s most accessible places to do business. Company formation is fast, the regulatory environment is internationally minded, and the country sits at the centre of trade flows between Europe, Asia, and Africa. That accessibility, however, creates a quiet hazard for the foreign businesses that benefit

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Setting Up an E-Commerce Business in the UAE: Licenses, Regulations, and Key Compliance Considerations

The UAE’s online retail market continues to grow at pace, with an estimated USD 34.6 billion in 2025 — growth of close to 13 per cent year on year, according to Research and Markets. That trajectory has attracted a steady stream of entrepreneurs and established retailers toward digital storefronts, marketplaces and cross-border drop shipping models.

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Why Having a UAE Will Matters for Expats: Risks and Key Considerations

Many expatriate residents in the UAE build significant assets during their time in the country, including bank savings, property, vehicles, and business interests. The distribution of those assets after death, and the guardianship of any children under 18, depends on UAE law, which handles inheritance and family matters differently from most other countries. For non-Muslim

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The UAE’s New Minimum Age for Social Media: What Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 Requires

In June 2026, the UAE Cabinet issued Resolution No. 106 of 2026 on the Regulation of Children’s Access to Social Media Platforms. The resolution sets 15 as the minimum age for using social media in the country and builds a wider set of rules around how platforms handle younger users. It moves child online safety

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The Legal Checklist Every Expat Entrepreneur Needs Before Launching in the UAE

Setting up a business in the UAE as a foreign national is genuinely achievable, but the process has a specific sequence. Decisions made in the first few weeks — about structure, licensing, and documentation — have consequences that are difficult and expensive to reverse. This checklist covers what needs to be in place before a

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Copyright Protection in the UAE: What Is Automatically Protected and What Needs Registration

One of the more persistent misconceptions in intellectual property law is that copyright must be registered to exist. In the UAE, as in most jurisdictions that follow international copyright norms, this is not the case. Copyright protection attaches to an original work at the moment of its creation, without any filing or formality. That said,

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Hiring UAE Nationals: Contractual and Regulatory Considerations for Employers

Emiratisation is the country’s national programme to increase the participation of the UAE’s national citizens in the workforce of the UAE and is one of the most important social and economic policies within the country. From a strategic perspective, Emiratisation helps to create a sustainable economy that is less dependent on expatriate labor and more

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What Documents You Need to Start a Business in the UAE Mainland: Complete Checklist

The UAE Mainland has become one of the world’s most attractive destinations for foreign investors. Most mainland LLCs now qualify for 100% foreign ownership across commercial, professional, and industrial activities — no local partner needed. A small number of sectors, including banking, telecommunications, and defence, still require at least 51% UAE national ownership, but these

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