January Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Doing business in KSA? Sending employees to KSA? Not without a licence! Often businesses will seek to explore the market through a partner or a third party with which employees are placed and through which they seek to operate in the Kingdom. Such operations will more often than not fall foul of KSA legislation designed to prevent a non KSA entity using a KSA entity’s trade licence to do business in the Kingdom. Over the past three years, we have seen the KSA authorities clamp down on activities they regard as harmful to the economy and in breach of legislation. In 2013 a six month immigration amnesty resulted in millions of individuals correcting their status, and thousands being deported for illegal working. This regulatory clampdown has continued into 2015. In the past few months the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) has intensified its campaign against illegal business ventures being conducted by expatriates in the name of Saudis (‘Concealment’) (referred to in Arabic as Tasattur) as part of efforts to put an end to what it called “the most dangerous practice” affecting the business community in the Kingdom. Tasattur business transactions in the Kingdom are estimated at more than SAR230 billion annually. 2015 …a detailed year in review Below we take a look around the world and detail some of the key changes from 2015. 01
UK: In Imtech Inviron Ltd v Loppingdale Plant Ltd [2014] EWHC 4006 (TCC) Loppingdale Plant Ltd (LPL) had entered into a Framework Agreement (FA) with Stansted airport, and works were instructed via a series of Task Orders. A series of Purchase Orders were then used to subcontract works to Imtech Inviron Ltd (Inviron). Under the FA, disputes were to be referred to adjudication using the NEC Adjudicator’s contract, and the adjudicator was to be one of three named persons. The Purchase Orders with Inviron contained a classic ‘awareness’ provision relating to the terms of the FA. After LPL failed to pay Inviron, Inviron initiated adjudication proceedings, but LPL contended that the adjudicator lacked jurisdiction. Inviron sought to enforce the adjudicator’s
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