4 May, 2015: The Minister of Finance, Acting Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Anas Khaled Al Saleh issued Ministerial Decision No. 234 of 2015, amending Ministerial Decision No. 425 of 2013 regarding the issuance of the executive regulations of companies Decree Law No. 25 of 2012, as amended by Law No. 97 of 2013, instating the reduction of the minimum capital requirements for all companies depending on their respective legal forms. Excluding from this decision the companies that are established by laws or regulations issued by supervisory authorities or ones that issue licenses for performing activities aside or with Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The decision instated to reduce the minimum capital requirements for companies that are General Partnership, Limited Partnership, Partnership Limited by Shares, Single Person, Limited Liability, and sole proprietorship to KD 1,000; whereas the reduction to KD 10,000 was for closed shareholding companies, and reduction to KD 25,000 to public shareholding companies. On his turn, Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Director General of KDIPA, and head of the Permanent Committee for Streamlining Business Environment in Kuwait (Permanent Committee), established by a Council of Ministers Decision issued back in December 2013, welcomed the timely decision. He considered this a positive step towards making the starting of commercial entities in Kuwait easier and closely benchmarked against best practices. He further elaborated that such reforms and related measures shall be duly documented by the Permanent Committee as per its mandate and widely communicated, and in full coordination with the government entities that are members of the Permanent Committee, particularly the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, with extended collaboration to other relevant government entities, the local private sector and the foreign companies operating in Kuwait. The decision will enter into force once published in the Official Gazette.
