In an interview with the Saudi Minister of Trade and Investment Majid al-Qasabi conducted on Thursday, the news organisation also reported Saudi Arabia would introduce a new commercial mortgage system and a franchising system.
“The bankruptcy law has been passed to the Shoura Council and we expect it to be implemented by the end of the first quarter of 2018,” Qasabi told the news channel.
The Saudi Arabian move comes about a year after the UAE introduced its own new bankruptcy law for businesses, including a new regulatory body for financial restructuring, which was designed in part to remove the threat of jail for executives of companies facing financial distress.
Quick reforms
Saudi Arabia is plans to combine the new bankruptcy law with a new commercial mortgage system, which is expected to be passed by the Shoura Council within the next two to three weeks, and a new commercial franchising system, which should follow soon after.
The oil rich nation is currently in the midst of revising its so called National Transformation Programme (NTP) 2020, which is designed to help modernise the country’s economy following sharp falls in government revenues as oil prices have come down.
Full details of the revised NTP, which is being driven by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are expected by the end of next month.
Saudi Arabia has also announced it has granted licenses to more than 50 global companies during the last nine months, which permits them to operate in the Kingdom.
