Understand the policies, laws and regulations shaping business across China and the UAE.
Business registration · Investment · Taxation · Customs · Trade · Financial regulation · Employment · Visas · Free-zone policies. Every update identifies the issuing authority, jurisdiction, publication date, effective date and official source.
Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Nebius Academy and Lovable to accelerate Agentic AI adoption across Dubai's private sector. The partnerships support an initiative overseen by Dubai Chambers to equip 14,000 member companies with operational and administrative AI skills. Programmes include leadership coursework, professional certifications, software access, and funded platform credits for developers.
Emirates NBD has partnered with OpenAI to run GPT models on UAE-based infrastructure, becoming the first bank in the MENA region to adopt this approach. The arrangement allows the lender to deploy frontier AI while adhering to strict domestic data residency and compliance regulations. The models will be utilized across customer service, risk analytics, workflow automation, and staff productivity.
Legal advocacy group Detained in Dubai has highlighted regulatory and legal risks under the UAE's expanded 2026 Virtual Assets Framework and Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025. The legislation broadens regulated virtual asset activities from three to eight categories and introduces criminal penalties, including potential imprisonment and fines reaching AED 250 million for unlicensed financial activities. The organization warned that commercial disputes could expose founders, executives, and advisers to prosecution and asset confiscation.
Google is updating its financial advertising policy for campaigns targeting users in the United Arab Emirates starting 21 October. Advertisers promoting crypto exchanges, software wallets, contracts for difference, and rolling spot forex must hold recognised UAE regulatory licences and obtain separate Google certification. The update broadens recognised crypto regulators to include the Capital Market Authority and Dubai Financial Services Authority, while updating forex rules to reflect the Capital Market Authority as successor to the Securities and Commodities Authority.
Google
United Arab Emirates
Effective October 21, 2026
Final rule
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