Projects and Contracts – Opportunities & Challenges’ forum
ASAR, Kuwait’s leading corporate law firm, and one of the region’s top tier firms, recently participated in Projects and Contracts – Opportunities & Challenges’ forum. The event, which was organized by Doha Bank Group, one of the leading banks in GCC, aimed at highlighting the projects’ opportunities and challenges in Kuwait.
Mr. Ibrahim Sattout, Partner at ASAR participated in the event’s panel discussion, and focused on the current changing legal landscape in Kuwait, the mega projects in the pipeline, dispute resolutions mechanism, and restrictions on the creation of security over certain assets including government properties, all of which served to effectively highlight the current trends in Kuwait.
Mega projects in Kuwait
Mr. Sattout highlighted the recent mega projects in Kuwait, some of which were Az Zour North IWPP Phase I, Az Zour North IWPP Phase II, Al Khairan IWPP, Um Al Hayman Waste Water Project, Shagaya Project, and Al Abdaliyah Integrated Solar Combined Cycle project. He further discussed the restrictions on creating security over certain assets, including government properties, and gave insight on the dispute resolution mechanism in Kuwait.
Mr. Sattout said: “Kuwait banks are currently witnessing high liquidity in terms of capital and investment; however, the limitations of projects together with ways of financing them, put several banks in a state of uncertainty. The BOT law, which is currently being reviewed and amended together with the IWPP law will serve as a platform for all financial institutions to better invest in projects that are currently available in Kuwait. We have no doubt that when further laws are created, this will drastically improve the underlying performance of the financial sector. We are pleased of our participation in this event alongside distinguished industry members and a leading financial institution as Doha Bank Group to discuss effective legal corporate practices in these vibrant times.”
Mr. Sattout further discussed the advantages of resolving disputes through arbitration as opposed to state courts, the restrictions on arbitration involving certain Kuwaiti governmental bodies and shared with the audience certain tips with regard to the drafting of arbitration clauses and conducting arbitration procedures.
With dedicated offices in Kuwait and Bahrain coupled with its associated offices and relationships, ASAR provides clients across an extensive range of industry sectors with comprehensive legal advice and support for their business activities in Kuwait, across the GCC and beyond.
The firm has been consistently rated as the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Kuwait by reputable legal guides such as the Chambers Global Guide, International Financial Law Review and the Legal 500. In 2013, ASAR was named as the “National Law Firm of the Year” by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR), the market-leading guide for financial law firms worldwide. The firm also won the “Best Restructuring Deal in the Middle East” award by IFLR during the same year.
ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners bags 13th consecutive IFLR National Award for Kuwait.
