Latest news with #SecuredTransactionsLaw
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Shura panel holds 36 meetings to scrutinise budget and tax bills
Thirty-six meetings kept Shura's Financial and Economic Affairs Committee busy during its latest legislative session, with much of its attention fixed on the 2025–2026 state budget and a series of economic bills. Eight of those sittings were held jointly with members of the Council of Representatives and the government, as the two chambers worked through the details of the upcoming national budget. According to figures compiled by the Council's General Secretariat, the committee examined two decree-laws, reviewed 11 draft bills, and assessed four sets of final accounts and financial statements. Sixteen reports were completed and forwarded to the Council Bureau for inclusion in public sittings. It also issued five economic and financial opinions related to draft legislation examined by other panels, as permitted under Article 21 of the Council's internal rules. Among the decree-laws reviewed was Decree-Law No. 19 of 2023, amending the legislation that established the Bahrain National Oil Company in 1999. The second, Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024, introduced measures for taxing multinational enterprises operating in the country. The committee's work on draft legislation included a proposed amendment to Article 1 of the 2006 law concerning the Future Generations Reserve Fund. It also reviewed Bahrain's agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong to prevent double taxation and deter tax avoidance. Further bills addressed a revised agreement for the second stage of the Al Dur water transmission project, a draft law on taxing outward remittances from expats, and a consolidated proposal combining two versions of that same tax. Amendments to the 1987 Commercial Law were also considered, along with the proposed 2025–2026 budget law and revisions to the 1977 legislation on development bonds. The committee also studied a draft law ratifying Bahrain's agreement with the Islamic Development Bank to fund the new 400 kV Jasra Power Station, changes to the 2016 law on standards and metrology, and the proposed Secured Transactions Law. On matters of public finance, the committee reviewed the state's final accounts for the financial years ending December 2022 and 2023, along with implementation reports for the same period. It examined the Ministry of Finance's statements on budget transfers across government bodies. The audited financial statements of the Shura Council for 2024 were also reviewed, together with the 2023 financial report for the Unemployment Insurance Account, as approved by the Social Insurance Organisation's board. Two legislative proposals were also on the agenda. The first, submitted by Lina Habib, Dr Jehad Al Fadhel, Dalal Jassim Al Zayed, Hala Ramzi, and Hesham Al Qassab, sought changes to the 2012 Consumer Protection Law. The second, put forward by Dr Fatima Al Kooheji, Dr Mohammed Ali, Redha Faraj, Hala Ramzi, and Ijlal Isa Bubshait, called for the removal of Article 14 from the 1987 Commercial Law.
Daily Tribune
13-03-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Draft law to let firms borrow against assets without handing them over
TDT | Manama A draft law before Parliament aims to let businesses borrow against their assets without giving them up. The proposal, submitted by government following a Royal Decree, is intended to set clear rules for secured lending and improve access to finance for companies looking to raise funds without disrupting their operations. The plan comes as Bahrain seeks to strengthen its standing in financial services, one of the 10 areas examined in the B-READY report by the World Bank Group. Credit The proposed law would allow firms to use machinery, stock, and other assets as collateral while keeping them in use, easing their path to credit and lowering borrowing costs. To bring consistency, the law would introduce a single set of rules covering secured rights on all types of moveable property, except those specifically exempted. It is designed to remove gaps in current rules and avoid clashes between different legal frameworks. Confidence The government argues that clearer laws will encourage lending, steady investment, and ensure lenders have confidence in the system. The draft law contains four articles. The first enforces the attached Secured Transactions Law. The second lays out the laws that apply when the new rules do not cover a case, provided they do not go against its provisions. Trade The third gives the minister in charge of trade, or another minister named by decree, the authority to issue executive regulations. The fourth sets out how it will be applied. The attached law itself runs to 60 articles, split into six sections. It covers general principles, how security rights are created and enforced, financial obligations, enforcement, conflicts between laws, and other rules. Loans The new system would let businesses secure loans against assets they still use, allowing more than one lender to hold a security interest in the same property. It also sets out a clearer process for recovering debts, with the aim of making enforcement fair and predictable. Parliament's Financial and Economic Affairs Committee and the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee will now examine the proposal before it moves to a final vote.
