On 24 September 2021, the long anticipated Personal Data Protection Law, promulgated by Royal Decree No. M/19, dated 09/02/1443H (corresponding to 16 September 2021) (the Law), was published in the Saudi Official Gazette (Umm AlQura). The Law was developed by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), which will be the competent governmental authority (the Data Authority) to administer the Law for a period of two years but it may thereafter transfer such competence…
In brief Employers have been facing many difficult and untested employment law issues over the last year and a half with COVID-19 and the impact it is having on their business. One of the most critical of these issues is whether they can make vaccination compulsory for their employees. On 7 May 2021, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (“MHRSD”) announced that it would be mandatory for public and private sector workers…
On 06/8/1441H (corresponding to 30 March 2020), the General Authority for Competition (the Authority) issued the anticipated Merger Control Guidelines (the Guidelines) that aim to provide some clarification and interpretative guidance on merger control related provisions of the Competition Law issued by Royal Decree no. M/75 dated 29/6/1440H (corresponding to 6 March 2019 (the Competition Law) and its Implementing Regulations issued by a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Authority on 25/1/1441H (corresponding…
Over the last few days, there have been a number of significant developments in Saudi Arabia that the government is instituting to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the private sector. These are in addition to the general government initiatives to assist small and medium sized enterprises that we previously reported on 22 March 2020, and the seven Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) initiatives for all private sector entities, including lifting the…
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) announced on 03 March 2020 that it had decided to cut the Repo rate by 50-basis points from 2.25% to 1.75% and Reverse Repo rate by 50-basis points from 1.75% to 1.25%. In the interests of preserving monetary stability, the Repo rate and the Reverse Repo rate were reduced by a further 75-basis points on 16 March 2020 from 1.75% to 1.00%, and 1.25% to 0.50% respectively. On the…