In This Issue:

- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – New Mortgage, Real Estate and Financing Laws

- Locally Domiciled Funds in the GCC

- Case Study: Jabal Omar, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

- New Rules to Impact Banking and Investment Funds

- Forward:

This issue of measure focuses on new legal developments within the GCC region.

We have dedicated a significant portion of this issue to a special article on the new mortgage, real estate and financing laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These new laws are highly welcomed pieces of legislation that have been anticipated for more than a decade. I personally am looking forward to seeing the practical effect of these laws. As a firm, we anticipate a significant impact on the operations of both financiers and borrowers. These new financing laws will hopefully lay the groundwork for the further development of secured and structured financing deals within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

I am pleased to note the growth of the GCC domestic funds industry, and one of our articles affords a snapshot of various local structures. We are particularly focused on this as we have one of the pre-eminent funds practices in the region and we are assisting our clients to develop new and innovative structures on an almost daily basis.

We have developed specialist knowledge of district cooling over the past few years, and we have included a case study on one of our most recent and interesting projects in the region.

We also go back to our US roots by including a brief article on FATCA, the new US certification, diligence and reporting rules that will affect virtually all non-US banks, investment funds, investment managers and insurers. This is recommended reading for anyone operating within the financial services industry.