Merger control issues in Kuwait are governed by Law No 72 of 2020, which came into force on 1 November 2020. They are also governed by its regulations, which were ratified by the Kuwait Competition Protection Agency (the “Kuwait CPA”) under Resolutions No 14 of 2021, No 26 of 2021 and No 25 of 2022. Law No 72 of 2020 and its regulations are together referred to as the “Kuwait Competition Law”.
The Kuwait Competition Law repealed its predecessor, Law No 10 of 2007 and expanded on the governing rules that impact competition in the State of Kuwait. The Kuwait Competition Law does not prejudice the international treaties and agreements in force in the State of Kuwait. This means that those treaties and agreements with the Kuwaiti government supersede any provisions that would otherwise apply pursuant to the Kuwait Competition Law.
In addition to the Kuwait Competition Law, the following apply.
The Kuwait CPA is an independent body established in line with the Kuwait Competition Law and is supervised by the Kuwait Minister of Commerce and Industry. The Kuwait CPA is the sole body responsible for reviewing and determining applications to approve economic concentrations or other anti-competitive practices. It is also solely responsible for enforcing the Kuwait Competition Law.
The Kuwait Competition Law requires an application to be submitted to the Kuwait CPA by persons involved in economic concentrations within at least 60 days from the date of the contract or agreement regarding the transaction, where the economic concentration meets specific thresholds established by the Kuwait CPA. The application must be submitted to the Kuwait CPA in the required form and the requirements under the Kuwait Competition Law. It must be approved by the Kuwait CPA before the economic concentration may be lawfully implemented. The Kuwait Competition Law provides relatively conservative thresholds for determining whether an application is required. These are as follows:
The Kuwait Competition Law exempts specific activities from being considered economic concentrations. These are as follows:
These activities will also not be considered economic concentrations.
Based on the authors’ practical experience, an exemption for a client on the basis of restructuring procedures taking place within the same group may also be successfully obtained.
It is important to note that the persons desiring to perform an economic concentration, where an application is required, are forbidden from performing any actions or procedures to complete the concentration operations before the Kuwait CPA’s determination is issued under the Kuwait Competition Law.
If the Kuwait CPA becomes aware of any steps taken towards completing a transaction before the appropriate clearance is obtained from the Kuwait CPA, penalties may be imposed.
The Kuwait CPA has the authority to independently initiate research, investigations, evidence collection and inquiries in line with the provisions of the Kuwait Competition Law. Any person may report any agreements, acts or actions that violate the Kuwait Competition Law.
The Kuwait Competition Law established a disciplinary board, which is responsible for deciding disciplinary actions referred to it by the Kuwait CPA in relation to violations of the Kuwait Competition Law and complaints filed by various stakeholders. The disciplinary board may impose financial penalties of no more than 10% of the total revenues earned by the parties to the economic concentration during the previous fiscal year in the event of failure to submit the application for concentration or for providing misleading or incorrect information on an application.
Since the issuance of the Kuwait Competition Law, the Kuwait CPA has consistently increased its level of investigative activity, including, in one case, fining a steel distribution company KWD250,000. This was equivalent to 1% of the company’s total revenues achieved during the fiscal year 2020/2021 and was imposed for the company’s non-compliance with the Kuwait CPA’s requests and persistent failure to provide the data and information requested for more than one month. In addition, the Kuwait CPA published a sanction on 30 March 2023 fining various food associations for abusing their dominant position.
The authors are aware of a local company that submitted their filing with inaccurate information, and that, as a result, the Kuwait CPA overseeing the matter appropriately disregarded the erroneous submission and directed the company to resubmit their filing with accurate information. This resulted in a major delay in obtaining clearance from the Kuwait CPA. The firm was engaged following the misfiling by another law firm in Kuwait and assisted the non-compliant company with making an appropriate filing with the Kuwait CPA.
Through the firm’s relationship with the CPA, they are aware of instances where the CPA has sent out inquiry letters to companies outside of Kuwait, with no local presences, for potential gun jumping investigations.
While these sanctions are not specifically related to merger control, they serve as evidence of the Kuwait CPA’s proactive approach to identifying violations and imposing penalties.
The following types of transaction are considered an economic concentration under the Kuwait Competition Law.
Article 1 of the Kuwait Competition Law defines control as “the legal or contractual relationship which, either separately or in combination, results in exercising decisive influence”.
Article 3 of the Kuwait Competition Law applies to acts committed inside or outside the State of Kuwait whenever these acts prevent, restrict or distort free competition in the State of Kuwait.
Under Resolution No 26 of 2021, the current jurisdictional thresholds are as follows.
The calculation of the thresholds appears to be based on the audited financial statements of the persons involved in the economic concentration, which will generally be the participants to the transaction. The Kuwait Competition Law does not specifically address the issue of currency conversion or whether to rely on the book or fair market value of the assets being appraised. In the authors’ experience, clients have provided the value of assets on the basis of the audited financial statements submitted to the Kuwait CPA.
Based on the authors’ experience, the Kuwait CPA primarily requires audited financial statements of the entities involved in a transaction to ensure the accuracy of the amounts provided. As a result, the authors recommend their clients provide precise audited financial statements, as the Kuwait CPA has zero tolerance for misleading or false information and will impose penalties.
In short, foreign-to-foreign transactions are subject to merger control and other measures. The Kuwait Competition Law applies to acts committed inside or outside the State of Kuwait whenever the acts prevent, restrict or distort free competition in the State of Kuwait.
The Kuwait Competition Law does not specify a market share jurisdictional threshold. However, disclosure of estimated market share is part of the notice application to the Kuwait CPA.
Joint ventures are subject to merger control. A joint venture of two or more persons, resulting in performing, on a lasting basis, an autonomous economic or commercial activity, regardless of its legal form or the activity to be practised, is considered an economic concentration. There are no other special rules provided for in the Kuwait Competition Law in terms of joint ventures.
The Kuwait Competition Law confers the capacity of law enforcement officers upon the employees of the Kuwait CPA. These officers are entitled to enter individual premises and workplaces to investigate violations of the Kuwait Competition Law. They are also entitled to access records, books and documents as well as to obtain information, data, documents and access to physical or electronic files held by a government or non-governmental body. In addition, they may seek the assistance of police officers when necessary.
Implementation of a transaction may not lawfully proceed before an approval is issued by the Kuwait CPA.
The Kuwait CPA is entitled to take corrective action for violations of the Kuwait Competition Law. Unfortunately, specific consequences for implementing a concentration before an approval from the Kuwait CPA, where an application is required, are not stated in the Kuwait Competition Law. The Kuwait CPA may order the unwinding of a transaction for failing to comply with the procedures stipulated in the Kuwait Competition Law.
The authors witnessed a situation in which a company that should have filed an application nonetheless proceeded to fulfil the completion obligations outlined under the transaction agreement, specifically regarding the transfer of shares, without filing with the Kuwait CPA. The Kuwait CPA became aware of this, and, as a consequence, that company is likely to be fined between 1% to 10% of its annual turnover. The matter is being referred to the disciplinary board of the Kuwait CPA for their deliberation.
Unfortunately, there are no reliable sources of publicly available information on this issue.
While possible, the circumstances where the authorities will permit closing before clearance are not specifically laid out in the Kuwait Competition Law.
An application must be filed at least 60 days from the date of the contract or agreement regarding the transaction.
No binding agreement is required before notification. It is sufficient for parties to file on the basis of a less formal agreement such as a letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or good faith intent by the parties to reach an agreement.
There are filing fees and applications must be accompanied by a receipt of payment of a fee equal to the lesser of:
It is worth noting the filing fees cannot be zero.
Persons directly involved in the economic concentration have to submit the application to the Kuwait CPA. These are typically the parties to the transaction agreement. Legal counsels usually handle the filing procedures on behalf of their clients through the use of powers of attorney.
An application requires a considerable amount of information and detail on the entities involved in the transaction and the subsequent financial consequences. An application requires the following information to be included (to the extent it is available and appropriate).
The Kuwait CPA will typically notify the applicants of additional information required. Otherwise, failure to provide a complete application may result in the Kuwait CPA issuing a denial or other corrective action it considers appropriate.
When the Kuwait CPA requests additional information, the duration of the review process of the concentration application pauses and resumes once the information is received and is accepted by the Kuwait CPA.
The disciplinary board may impose financial penalties of no more than 10% of the total revenues earned by the parties to the concentration during the previous fiscal year in the event that the application contains misleading or incorrect information.
Once an application is submitted, the chairman of the Kuwait CPA must refer the application to the executive director of the Kuwait CPA within five days, plus any additional time if additional information is requested from the applicants.
The executive director then has 90 days to study the application and prepare a report which will then be submitted to the board of the Kuwait CPA. The board of the Kuwait CPA may extend this 90-day limit if they receive a request from the executive director of the Kuwait CPA. During this phase, the executive director:
In the event of an objection from a third party, the time to consider and decide on this does not count towards the 90-day period otherwise imposed on the executive director of the Kuwait CPA during their review phase.
Following completion of the executive director’s review, a report will be issued to the chairman of the Kuwait CPA containing details of the application, a description of all facts and procedures taken with respect to the application, an evaluation of the application from both a legal and economic standpoint and a recommendation.
The chairman of the Kuwait CPA presents the application to the Kuwait CPA’s board, who will in turn decide on the application within 30 days of the date of the chairman’s presentation. The board may decide to:
Once a decision is made, the executive director must inform the stakeholders within 15 days of the date of the board’s decision.
The total timeframe for a decision to be rendered from the time an application is properly submitted is estimated to be four months. However, the actual time, may vary depending on follow-up requests for additional information, requests for additional time by the executive director or objections raised by third parties.
Pre-notification discussions with authorities can be engaged in. Any person who desires to enter into an economic concentration may apply for a meeting before submitting an application. There is no particular obligation of confidentiality provided for in the Kuwait Competition Law. Under Resolution No 24 of 2021, the pre-notification fee is KWD250.
Requests for information are common and are expected depending on the extent of the application submitted. These types of requests will effectively suspend the time otherwise imposed on the Kuwait CPA to process an application.
There is no formal method for expediting or accelerating the procedure of review of an economic concentration application.
When considering an application, the Kuwait CPA considers the following standards.
The executive director, during their review, takes the following elements into account.
Unfortunately, at this stage the regulations do not provide much guidance on this issue. The Kuwait Competition Law provides that the relevant geographical area is the area where the products regarded as interchangeable are substituted. It also provides that the relevant products are products which are regarded as interchangeable or substitutable in terms of meeting the needs of the recipient of the service or the commodity.
Unfortunately, at this stage the regulations do not provide guidance on this issue. However, it is likely that case law will play a relatively small role in influencing the enforcement of the Kuwait Competition Law.
See 4.1 Substantive Test.
The Kuwait CPA considers the possible influence of economic efficiencies. However, the extent of this consideration is not apparent.
There are no formally approved additional considerations that the Kuwait CPA may take into account where the considerations fall outside of the scope of the application of the Kuwait Competition Law.
There are no other special rules provided for in the Kuwait Competition Law pertaining to joint ventures in particular.
The Kuwait CPA has the authority to take corrective actions for violations of the Kuwait Competition Law.
The Kuwait CPA may, at any stage of the procedures taken against the violator and until a decision is issued by the disciplinary board or a final judgment, offer settlement or accept it according to the template prepared for this purpose with any person who committed one of the violations stipulated in the law, for the payment of an amount that is not less than the dedicated minimum fine and will not exceed the maximum fine.
The Kuwait CPA will determine the period during which the violator should fulfil the settlement conditions. Where the settlement is completed, the procedures taken against the violator expire.
A settlement request may also be submitted by the violator or their legal representative to the Kuwait CPA. The Kuwait CPA will examine the request and assess its value without affecting the rights of the person who is affected by the violation.
In order to offer or accept a settlement, the following conditions must be met.
There is no formal initiation point for when parties may begin negotiating remedies with the authorities. The Kuwait CPA may propose its own remedy and may also impose other remedies it has the authority to even if they have not been agreed to by the parties.
Unfortunately, there are no reliable sources of publicly available information on this issue.
Formal decisions permitting or prohibiting transactions are made publicly available. The decisions of the Kuwait CPA are generally published on the CPA’s website.
Unfortunately, there are no reliable sources of publicly available information on this issue.
Unfortunately, there are no reliable sources of publicly available information on this issue. The Kuwait CPA, in the event it issues a conditional approval, will outline the conditions regarding this.
During the review process by the Kuwait CPA, a summary of the application is published on the website of the Kuwait CPA and in the official gazette and two local daily Arabic newspapers.
Every interested party is entitled to submit a justified objection to the Kuwait CPA against the economic concentration application within 15 days of the date of notice or publication. If an objection is filed, the applicant has 15 days from the date of notice of the objection, to provide its statements and documents in reply to the objection. The review process and timeframe are effectively paused from the time an objection is filed to the time a decision is reached by the Kuwait CPA on the matter.
During the review process by the Kuwait CPA, a summary of the application is published on the website of the Kuwait CPA as well as in the official gazette and two local daily Arabic newspapers.
The Kuwait CPA is also permitted to notify persons it considers to be affected by the approval of the economic concentration application. These persons will then have 15 days from the date of being notified, or the date of publication of the summary of the application, whichever is earlier, to lodge any objections they may have.
The economic concentration applicant may want the data included in the application and the attached documents to be treated as confidential. On this basis, they may mark the application as “Confidential” and attach a statement in support of keeping the application or its contents confidential. In these circumstances, they should provide non-confidential summaries that provide a sufficient understanding of the content of the confidential data and mark these summaries as “Not Confidential”.
The Kuwait CPA ultimately determines whether, or to what extent, to hold information contained in an application as confidential in line with controls set by its board of directors.
There is no clear indication of the level or extent of co-operation between the Kuwait CPA and other jurisdictions. However, the Kuwait Competition Law is subject to international treaties or agreements entered into by the State of Kuwait (see1.1 Merger Control Legislation).
Therefore, to the extent a treaty provides for the co-operation by the State of Kuwait with other jurisdictions and to the extent relevant to the Kuwait Competition Law, those conditions will apply.
A final decision by the Kuwait CPA may be appealed through the judicial system in Kuwait by way of a formal writ of summons against the Kuwait CPA. There is a dedicated department within the court system which is devoted to complaints filed involving governmental authorities.
The timeframe for a case filed against a governmental authority varies on a case-by-case basis. However, it may last more than one year in the court system.
Assuming that a third party made a proper objection during the review phase of an application, the decision made by the Kuwait CPA may be appealed by that third party. However, it is highly unlikely that the appeal will pause the review process.
There are no other special rules provided for in the Kuwait Competition Law pertaining to foreign direct investment or foreign subsidies legislation with respect to economic concentration filing.
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This guide examines Kuwait’s evolving merger control regime which is enforced by the Competition Protection Authority (the “CPA”), following the enactment of Law No 72 of 2020 on Competition Protection (the "Competition Law") and its implementing regulations. It highlights the CPA’s increasingly assertive enforcement posture and explores the implications of Kuwait’s low notification thresholds, broad definition of “control” and expansive jurisdictional reach.
With filing obligations triggered by minimal local turnover, even foreign-to-foreign transactions face mandatory review, adding regulatory complexity and procedural delay. The guide also addresses the Constitutional Court’s decision of 2025 (Petition No 5 of 2023, decided on 5 February 2025) invalidating the CPA’s blanket penalty provisions, raising questions about the proportionality of current sanctions and the need for reform.
By comparing Kuwait’s regime with that of the UAE, the guide illustrates key differences in notification criteria, review timeframes and sector-specific exemptions. It also examines Kuwait’s proactive role within the Arab Competition Network (the “ACN”) which reflects a shift towards regional competition co-ordination, although notable gaps remain in aligning local enforcement practices with international standards.
The guide concludes with strategic recommendations for businesses engaging in cross-border M&A and calls for legislative refinement to align Kuwait’s framework with international standards while fostering a more transparent and investor-friendly regulatory environment.
Competition Law
Over the last few years, Kuwait has implemented a modern competition regime with the Competition Law. This replaced the previous Competition Law No 10 of 2007, its Executive By-laws issued in 2021 and the pivotal Resolution No 26/2021 (the “Threshold Resolution”).
Together, these reforms have transformed Kuwait's CPA into a proactive enforcer of competition law, with particular attention paid to merger control. This guide explores the key elements of Kuwait’s merger control regime, recent enforcement trends, comparative insights with other jurisdictions and the growing legal and business implications stemming from the CPA’s expansive powers.
Kuwait’s merger control regime: A broad net
Under the CPA’s regime, transactions that result in a change of “control”, whether through mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures, must be subject to notification if specific thresholds are met. These are known as "economic concentrations" and are subject to pre-closing approval.
Transactions qualifying as “economic concentrations” include:
“Control” is broadly defined under Article 1 of the Competition Law as "the ability to exercise decisive influence on an entity", which can be achieved through ownership rights, voting rights or contractual arrangements. The CPA assesses both direct and indirect “control”, including through affiliated entities and related parties, granting the CPA wide discretion to assess whether a transaction qualifies, regardless of formal governance rights.
Minority shareholdings and joint ventures
Even acquisitions of minority stakes can require notification if they confer decisive influence. Similarly, joint ventures that operate independently and meet thresholds are treated as “economic concentrations”.
Foreign-to-foreign transactions
Transactions involving only a small commercial footprint in Kuwait are not exempted. The absence of a “material local nexus” or “de minimis” exemption means even deglobalised operations, such as non-Kuwaiti technology companies with minimal Kuwaiti turnover, are compelled to notify.
Notification thresholds
The CPA’s thresholds are set by the Threshold Resolution and are as follows:
These thresholds are notably low compared to neighbouring jurisdictions and have not been adjusted for inflation since their introduction in 2021, which partly explains why they remain low compared to regional standards. For example:
Implications of low thresholds
The CPA thresholds encompass a vast number of transactions, including those with negligible market impact. This has led to a large volume of filings, increasing administrative burdens on both transaction parties and the CPA itself.
Filing and review procedures
Timing and form filings must be submitted at least 60 days prior to implementing the transaction. This is a minimum period and the CPA often takes longer in practice. Parties typically file after signing but before closing, with CPA approval as a condition precedent. All documents must be translated into Arabic.
Required documentation includes:
Filing fee
The filing fee is calculated as 0.1% of paid capital or assets in Kuwait (whichever is lower) but is capped at KWD100,000.
Review timeframe
The review timeframe is as follows:
The total review period can be extended to up to 185 days in practice, which is among the longest in the region.
Pre-notification consultations
Parties may request informal guidance or submit a formal pre-notification consultation (subject to a KWD250 fee). While intended to streamline the process, the CPA rarely issues clearances at this stage, leading most parties to proceed directly to filing.
Sanctions and enforcement trends
Penalties for non-compliance
The penalties for non-compliance are:
Settlement
Parties may settle with the CPA for not less than 50% of the penalty.
Notable fines
In May 2023, the CPA fined a booking app platform 5% of revenues for failing to file while in October 2024 it fined 16 exchange companies between 1% and 5% of revenues for cartel behaviour.
Constitutional Court ruling on sanctions
On 5 February 2025, the Constitutional Court of Kuwait issued a landmark decision (under Petition 4 of 2023) declaring Article 34(1) of the Competition Law unconstitutional. This provision had authorised the CPA to impose financial penalties of up to 10% of total revenues for violations of anti-competitive conduct under Articles 5 to 8.
Key findings of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court found the penalty structure lacked proportionality as it applied uniformly to all violations regardless of severity, actual harm or financial benefit derived.
It also considered that the calculation method based on total revenues, regardless of whether the revenues were connected to the breach, was excessive and inconsistent with constitutional protections of private property.
The Constitutional Court emphasised the need for a rational connection between sanctions and the objectives of competition enforcement.
Penalties must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the benefit gained from the violation.
This ruling has created significant uncertainty in terms of enforcement, as the CPA has not yet issued formal guidance on how it will approach penalties in light of the ruling.
I) Potential ripple effects
This ruling casts serious doubt on the constitutionality of Article 34(2), which imposes an identical 10% penalty for failure to notify “economic concentrations”. Since this provision uses the same flat rate approach without regard to market effect, future legal challenges are likely. Businesses are now exploring avenues to contest both past and future fines, while the CPA may need to revise its enforcement strategy to withstand judicial scrutiny.
II) Broader impact on enforcement
The judgment may prompt legislative reform of the Competition Law, particularly its penalty framework. It also signals to businesses that Kuwait's judiciary is willing to scrutinise regulatory overreach, thereby reinforcing the importance of due process and proportionality in administrative enforcement.
Substantive review of transactions
In assessing an “economic concentration”, the CPA considers the:
These assessments are often opaque, with little published reasoning in clearance decisions.
Third-party objections
Notices of the transaction are published in two daily newspapers and on the CPA’s website. Third parties may object within 15 days. This period (plus the time taken to resolve objections) is excluded from the statutory review window.
Legislative gaps and proposed reforms
Based on comparative research and practical experience, several shortcomings in Kuwait's competition framework have been identified. These shortcomings are as follows.
It has been recommended that:
There have been discussions within Kuwait's legislative bodies about potential amendments to address some of these gaps, particularly following the Constitutional Court ruling. Industry stakeholders have been advocating for the introduction of a fast-track procedure for transactions that clearly pose no competitive concerns.
Impact on M&A activity and foreign investment
The practical effect of the CPA regime has been to lengthen deal timeframes, deter foreign investment and increase regulatory risk. Filing requirements apply to many global transactions that have minimal or no effect on Kuwaiti competition.
I) Case study
In several multinational transactions involving only minor Kuwaiti components, parties faced delays due to CPA clearance, even when approvals were swiftly granted in other jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
Notably, Saudi Arabia’s recent accession to the Apostille Convention in December 2022 has simplified cross-border transactions by replacing document legalisation with a single Apostille certificate, reducing costs and delays for mergers and regulatory filings.
This change eliminates the need for authentication through the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, significantly reducing both cost and administrative delay in regulatory and merger filings.
In contrast, the limited transparency and lengthy review timeframes in Kuwait’s regulatory procedures often disincentivise investors from targeting Kuwaiti assets.
Comparative perspective: Competition practice in the UAE
The UAE also has a well-developed merger control regime under Federal Law No 4 of 2012 (as amended), which is overseen by the Ministry of Economy. While the Federal Law is similar in spirit to Kuwait’s regime, the UAE adopts a more market-focused approach.
The key differences are as follows.
In recent practice, the Ministry of Economy has emphasised that it will assess the transaction based on the total turnover within the UAE without engaging in detailed product market segmentation. This mirrors a similar trend seen in Kuwait, where the CPA focuses on total turnover without always applying a granular relevant market test.
Both jurisdictions exhibit increasing convergence in their treatment of foreign-to-foreign transactions. However, the UAE's competition authority tends to emphasise commercial impact more than formalistic criteria, which may lead to greater regulatory flexibility.
While Kuwait pays careful attention to threshold calculations and procedural steps, the UAE’s regime hinges more on market structure and dominance risk. Transactions that might trigger CPA notification may not necessarily do so in the UAE, underscoring the importance of a jurisdiction-specific competition analysis in the GCC.
Kuwait’s role in regional collaboration: The ACN
Kuwait has taken on a more visible role in regional competition enforcement through its active participation in the ACN. This is a regional platform established in March 2022 comprising of 17 MENA jurisdictions. The ACN aims to promote the alignment of competition laws, support cross-border co-operation and enhance the capacity of national authorities to address market distortions across the region.
As part of this initiative, the CPA has engaged in joint training programmes, technical exchanges and collaborative enforcement efforts. These steps have positioned Kuwait as a contributing voice in shaping regional competition policy and enforcement priorities.
Kuwait’s competition reforms, particularly those under the Competition Law, have been recognised by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (the “UNESCWA”) and the ACN as a positive step towards modernising competition law enforcement in the region.
In February 2025, Kuwait hosted the ACN’s annual conference, which focused on emerging antitrust risks in the digital economy, including algorithmic collusion and AI-driven price co-ordination. The conference provided a forum for regional dialogue on how regional authorities can respond to these developments while supporting innovation and fair competition.
One of the key outcomes of the conference was the signing of a co-operation agreement between Kuwait’s CPA and Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition. The agreement provides for the exchange of expertise, joint studies and capacity building initiatives. It also specifically includes provisions for information sharing in cross-border merger reviews, marking a meaningful step towards formalised regional co-ordination in competition enforcement.
While these efforts signal Kuwait’s commitment to regional alignment, further work is needed to bring domestic enforcement practices in line with international standards.
Conclusion and future outlook
Kuwait's merger control framework is among the most far-reaching in the GCC in terms of its scope. However, it also carries significant procedural and substantive burdens. The Constitutional Court’s ruling presents a critical opportunity for legislative refinement. Raising the notification thresholds, introducing proportionality into penalties and offering clear guidance on key concepts will enhance regulatory certainty and investor confidence.
Looking ahead, the CPA is expected to continue its active enforcement strategy while potentially adjusting policy to balance regulatory oversight with facilitating commercial transactions. The CPA has indicated it is reviewing its internal procedures following the Constitutional Court ruling, with potential reforms expected in late 2025. Businesses engaging in Kuwait-related transactions should conduct thorough merger control assessments early and consider pre-notification consultations in ambiguous cases.
Businesses should consider the evolving nature of Kuwait's competition regime when planning transactions and should build in sufficient time and flexibility to address potential regulatory changes.
By aligning Kuwait’s competition regime with international standards and leveraging its regional leadership (evidenced by the ACN-driven Saudi Arabia-Kuwait agreement and other ACN initiatives) the CPA can transform its regulatory rigour into a catalyst for MENA-wide investment, integration and competitive growth.
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