The UAE has introduced a new competition law and abrogated the old competition law, federal law No. 4 of 2012. Watch it now.

This webinar will explore current practices & imminent developments in the MENA Region.

The Competition Department at the UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism has launched its first enforcement actions under the country's updated competition regime, referring several poultry companies to the Federal Public Prosecution for alleged price-fixing and coordinated conduct. The investigation revealed that companies aligned pricing strategies during exceptional circumstances, resulting in unjustified price increases for consumers of this essential commodity subject to strict price controls.

On October 27, 2014, the Cabinet of the UAE (the "Cabinet") adopted implementing regulations of the Law.

The United Arab Emirates (the UAE) has recently issued Federal Decree by Law, No. (36) of 2023 on the Regulation of Competition (the New Competition Law), which abrogates and supersedes the previous competition law, Law No. (4) of 2012 (the Repealed Competition Law).

On 20th January 2025, the UAE Cabinet issued Decision No. (3) of 2025 ("Decision"), which outlines the ratios and controls related to the implementation of Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2023 regulating competition.

Omar Al Heloo discusses the developments in UAE competition law.

The United Arab Emirates ("UAE") recently introduced its competition law: Federal Law No. 4 of 2012 ("Competition Law").

On 2 February 2024, the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) announced that they discovered price fixing among 20 manufacturers of ice blocks for commercial use.

In February 2024, we shared an update on the UAE's competition landscape in which we summarised the changes brought by Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023...

The UAE has introduced Cabinet Decision No. 105 of 2026, establishing official fees for competition law filings under Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023. The fee structure includes a turnover-based calculation for merger clearance requests (0.02% of annual sales, capped at AED 150,000), flat fees for exemption requests (AED 5,000), and nominal charges for objections and grievances. These fees take effect on 29 July 2026, one day before the implementing regulation becomes operational.

The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism is developing a National Competition Platform that will use artificial intelligence to transform competition enforcement, potentially reducing merger review timelines to 15 days while automating antitrust investigations and exemption procedures.

With regard to competition or anti-trust laws, currently there is no significant body of law in the UAE dealing with these issues.

The President-elect of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker appointed the Danish nominee Margrethe Vestager (46) as the new EU Commissioner for Competition.

Similarly to the Old Law,1 the New Competition Law2 prohibits the abuse of a "dominant position" in the relevant market by any undertaking, including acts or conduct aimed...

On 20 January the UAE announced the long anticipated new notification thresholds. The new turnover threshold of AED 300 million (approx. USD 81 million) will apply starting send of March individually.

In early 2024, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission (CCC) proposed significant amendments to its merger control regime.

In December 2023, the UAE legislator enacted a new Competition Law), which introduced—among other changes—the concept of turnover based notification thresholds.

In an earlier inBrief dated 9 December 2014 we wrote about Federal Law No. 4/2012 on the regulation of competition, which introduced the means by which the United Arab Emirates could regulate...

The UAE's competition regime has undergone a significant transformation with Cabinet Resolution No. 59 of 2026, introducing Executive Regulations to Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023. These regulations establish a detailed procedural framework for obtaining individual exemptions and implementing block exemptions, while moving the assessment of dominance beyond purely market share-based approaches to require broader economic analysis of market power.