On 1 November 2023, the Board of the General Authority for Competition (“Authority”) announced that new financial thresholds would apply to determine whether a transaction is reportable to the Authority. By implementing such change, the aim of the Authority is to provide further clarity on the local nexus test required for a transaction to be notifiable to the Authority and to align the Saudi merger control regime further with international standards. This announcement follows the…
The General Authority for Competition (the “Authority”) recently published its latest annual report regarding its activity in 2021. This report shows that since the introduction of the current Competition Law1 (the “Law”) in Saudi Arabia in September 2019, the Authority has strengthened its resources and taken a number of initiatives to raise awareness about the Law and that it has significantly increased its enforcement against violators. This alert offers an overview of the key initiatives and…
On 16 March 2022 in Cairo, Egypt, members of the Arab Competition Network (the “ACN”) held their first conference to launch this new network. This alert provides a high-level presentation of the ACN, as well as an overview of its mission and goals. Background and Goals of the ACN The ACN is a product of the efforts and collaboration of the Arab League and the Egyptian Competition Authority. The ACN aims to provide a platform…
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…