A. Pharaon & Partners Law Firm.

Saudi Arabia has published the draft of the new Companies Act, which has long been awaited. Amendments made are major and will change many of the concepts found in the previous law. 43 articles have been deleted out of 233, 24 new articles enacted.

The draft includes a new set of penalties on managers and board members, especially for stating false or misleading information in the financial statements or reports. Omitting information will fall under this category if the actual financial position of the company is sought to be concealed as a result.