Dr. Bilail Aql Alsendeed
Associate. Professor – Public Law – Kuwait International Law School – Legal Consultant in the Kuwaiti Cabinet

Abstract:

The Law of Encouraging Direct Investment in the State of Kuwait No. (116) of 2013, which annulled law No. (8) in 2001 regarding the regulation of direct investment of foreign capital in the State of Kuwait and replaced it in the application, is represented as a qualitative shift in provisions governing direct investment. The practical applications of its provisions in the few years after its promulgation imposed itself through a marked increase in foreign investment flows, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
This research aims at clarifying the most prominent updated provisions contained in the provisions of the law referred to through an analytical review and comparison (the first section), and thus shed light on the main results achieved by its applications and the most important challenges facing foreign investment flows in Kuwait, and the impact of its failure or continued success (the second section).
In order to expand the focus on the proposed changes and positive aspects, the research on new law innovations (the first requirement) included more attention to the legal forms that may be taken by the investment entities authorized by the Direct Investment Promotion Authority and the mechanisms associated with its licensing (the second requirement) and the guarantees and benefits that the investor can be benefited from to stimulate the localization of its value-added investment (the third requirement).
In order to pay more attention to the accomplished achievements and the challenges affecting Law No. (116) for the year 2013, the research reviewed the achievements of the Investment Promotion Authority in implementing the results in terms of the remarkable increase in the volume of investment in quantity and quality (the first requirement), in addition to raising the level of the state of Kuwait in regards to Ease of Doing Business Index  issued by the World Bank Group (the second requirement), not to mention the smooth path it has followed for the processing of some complicated issues, especially with regard to the Offset Program (the third requirement), which does not negate the existence of a set of real and legal challenges that must be addressed and overcome (the fourth requirement).
Keywords:
Law no. (116) of 2013, investment license, guarantees and advantages of direct investment, OffSet, Ease of Doing Business Index.

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