In this Global Platform video, Zeyad Khoshaim, managing partner at Khoshaim & Associates, talks about the significant reforms that are set to boost foreign investment and encourage local players in the Kingdom. The reforms have permitted international and local investors to participate in a growing number of commercial activities. In addition, Saudi Arabia allows trade activities in areas such as e-commerce, education and health care to be conducted 100% by foreign investors.
Saudi Arabian law is derived from sharia. Sharia is a group of principles that are from two main sources. One is the Quran. And the other is the Hadith, or the sayings of the Prophet. The amalgamation of those two sources generates what is known as sharia. Sharia will not cover bespoke issues, such as investment banking and things of that sort. And for that sharia in Saudi Arabia is complemented by various legislations issued by royal decrees or the Council of Ministers' resolutions. And those pieces of legislation make up Saudi Arabian law.
Both international and local investors have a menu of commercial activities to choose from. And Saudi Arabia has done significant reforms to allow investment in a plethora of activities. First, in terms of form, international investors can come in and establish branches of their international corporate entities. They can also establish companies, subsidiaries, be it in the form of limited liability companies, or in the form of joint stock companies. In terms of substance, Saudi Arabia allows trade activities to be conducted 100% by foreign investors in areas such as e-commerce, trade, general services, health care, education and so forth. All these activities have together been opened over the past few years as part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia's judicial system has gone through significant reform over the past few years. And I'm quite happy with the speed, fairness and robustness of the judicial system as it exists today and the reform that has gone into play. Saudi Arabia's court system is from essentially two court systems and a number of judicial committees. The idea behind these judicial committees is to create an environment where the people that are overlooking the cases have the substance of training and the substance of understanding of the underlying issues, further enhancing the robustness of the judicial system. The two court systems are the administrative court which takes care of cases between any person and the government in its administrative role. And the other system is in charge of commercial cases, labour cases, enforcement cases, criminal cases and so on. Those two court systems make up the venues through which you would bring your cases. Most international investors will probably find themselves, should they ever use the court system, in the Ministry of Justice court system. Because that is where the commercial courts are, and that is where the enforcement court is.
Saudi Arabia's arbitration framework has significantly improved over the past five years. One of the main aspects of arbitration is ensuring flexibility. And that is what the Saudi Arbitration Law does. It ensures the flexibility of the parties to agree on things like language, governing law, location and whether to use ad hoc or institutional arbitration. Various investors have asked us, whether international awards are capable of enforcement in Saudi Arabia. And the answer is yes. Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the New York Convention. That, together with reform in the enforcement courts which allow the enforcement of international arbitral awards in Saudi Arabia, has led in my view to a significant revamp and enhancement of the arbitration scene in Saudi Arabia. Looking ahead, I am very excited about what's to come over the next decade. Vision 2030 presents significant opportunities for international investors and local players to participate in the growth of Saudi Arabia. In my view, Saudi Arabia has created a fantastic platform both in terms of governance, transparency and protection of capital that allow international players that are minded to ensure the safety of their investments and the growth of their capital to be preserved and to be supported in the years to come.
