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.
The UAE Ministry of Finance has launched an automated corporate tax filing and payment integration phase with commercial banks. The system allows taxable persons to submit returns and settle liabilities directly through digital banking portals. The update supports the UAE government's Zero Bureaucracy initiative.
The UAE accounted for 80.9 percent of disclosed GCC M&A deal value in the first half of 2026, reaching $52.6 billion across 131 transactions, according to Apolonia Capital. While total regional deal count fell 18 percent, overall value rose 12 percent to $65.1 billion. In parallel, UAE audit firms Evas Constantin and Mac & Ross announced a merger into CPAC IMEA amid expanding corporate tax and compliance requirements.
The UAE's regulatory framework for e-commerce centres on Federal Law No. 15/2020 on Consumer Protection and Federal Decree-Law No. 46/2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services. The legislation mandates consumer rights, product transparency, return policies, and legal validity for electronic contracts and signatures. Violations such as electronic forgery or providing unauthorised trust services carry prison sentences and fines reaching up to AED 750,000.
Law firm Clyde & Co issued legal analysis on employer health, safety, and environment (HSE) obligations across the Gulf following regional maritime tensions. Citing reports of over 20,000 seafarers stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, the firm warned employers of potential labor, civil, and criminal liabilities under UAE and Saudi laws.
United Arab Emirates
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