Latest news with #regulatoryreform
Zawya
12-08-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Qatar's strategic overhaul spurs foreign investment surge
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is drawing heightened interest from global investors with a sweeping regulatory reform programme, robust free-zone ecosystems, and a bold set of financial incentives aimed at anchoring the nation's economic diversification push, a market expert said. Unveiled earlier this year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Strategy 2024–2030 has become the cornerstone of this renewed effort. It lays out a clear roadmap to modernise commercial legislation, strengthen industrial capabilities, and attract long-term capital flows. 'Qatar is not just opening its doors—it's redesigning the entire front porch,' Markus Illich, a legal advisor at Global Investment Forum Middle East, told The Peninsula in an interview. 'We are seeing a conscious pivot from passive liberalisation to proactive investment engineering.' At the heart of the reform drive is a legislative overhaul affecting 27 laws across 17 government bodies. Drafts include a long-awaited bankruptcy law, new commercial registration regulations, and a public-private partnership (PPP) framework to enable more structured collaboration between government and enterprise. Illich said, 'Predictability is the real currency for foreign investors. Qatar's push for legal modernisation gives businesses more than incentives—it gives them confidence.' Free zones have emerged as the operational backbone of Qatar's FDI strategy. Zones like Qatar Free Zones (QFZ) and Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) now offer not only 100 percent foreign ownership and tax holidays but also expedited licensing and dispute resolution under internationally recognised commercial law. 'Operating within QFZ is like running a business in a startup nation within a state. From customs clearance to legal advice—it's built to move fast,' the expert noted. Media City Qatar has also proven to be a magnet for global content creators, providing a dedicated legal framework and regulatory independence tailored for creative industries. The likes of Bloomberg, CNN, and Reuters have established regional offices there over the past 18 months. Adding financial muscle to these structural reforms, Invest Qatar in May launched a $1bn incentive programme, offering up to 40 percent reimbursement on eligible costs including setup, hiring, and R&D-focused on sectors such as advanced manufacturing, tech, logistics, and fintech. Illich stressed that 'Qatar is being surgical about which sectors it wants to attract and generous in how it welcomes them.' Complementing the regulatory and financial reforms is Qatar's digital portal—Invest Qatar Gateway—which centralises licensing, banking, and tender access in one interface. Since launch, it has facilitated over 11,000 applications and significantly reduced onboarding time. Official data confirms the payoff: In Q2 2025 alone, 2,900+ new foreign-owned companies were registered—an increase of 640 percent year-on-year. FDI inflows surged to $2.74bn in 2024, reversing a negative trend from prior years. 'Qatar's approach appears to be working not just because of incentives, but because of alignment. Investors today don't just want tax breaks—they want vision,' Illich added. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
SBS Australia
08-08-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Filipino, Friday 8 August 2025
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government has more work to do on regulatory reform. Climate activists say the federal government has to listen to young people when setting its 2035 emissions targets and aim for 60 per cent or activists say the federal government has to listen to young people when setting its 2035 emissions targets and aim for 60 per cent or higher. Registration of voters for the Philippines' Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections is expected to reach over 1.5 million as voter registration runs until August 10 across the country. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST SBS Filipino 06:22 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino 📲 Catch up episodes and stories – Visit or stream on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Youtube Podcasts , and SBS Audio app.
SBS Australia
07-08-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Jim Chalmers says government has more work to do on regulatory reform
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . TRANSCRIPT: Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government has more work to do on regulatory reform Young Australians urge government to set bold 2035 climate target Rookie Tane Edmed not surprised he's been picked for the Wallabies Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers admits the government has more work to do on regulatory reform, as the Productivity Commission releases its interim report on potential reforms to National Competition Policy. It's found aligning Australian standards with international and overseas standards could provide an economic boosts of between 1.9 and 3.8 billion dollars per year. And it's found greater labour mobility for high-risk licensed occupations could be worth up to 846 million dollars per year. Dr Chalmers says reform in these areas would ease burdens on business. The government will hold a conference on reforms later this month. Climate change activists say the federal government has to take into account the concerns of young people when setting its 2035 emissions reduction target. A national poll by YouGov, commissioned by activist groups the Climate Council and the Climate Action Network, has found 61 per cent of people want the government to do more on climate change. Climate Council Chief Executive Amanda McKenzie says support for action is particularly strong amongst younger people. "We know that Australia's largest voting bloc- millennial and Gen Z - are concerned about climate chance. And, again, this shows up in this polling, where almost three-quarters of Gen Z voters expect the government to set a strong 2035 target." Millenials are generally defined as those born between 1981 and 1996, whilst Gen Z are those born between 1997 and 2012. The government is required to set a 2035 emissions reduction target by the UN in the coming months, with activists urging that target to be 60 per cent or more. A new report has found up to a third of schools in Queensland are in poor condition. The Department of Education's Comprehensive Review of Infrastructure Renewal report says there is a maintenance backlog which would cost an $441 million to address. It has identified a number of concerns with unsafe infrastructure that includes rotting ceilings in some school buildings. Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has blamed the report's findings on the previous Labor government, saying it is evidence the party did not spend enough on schools during their term in office. "This is a report that Labor commissioned because they knew there were issues. These were issues we had last time we were in government when we had a significant maintenance backlog. And it's clear they knew about the issue. And the report shows they under-invested in maintenance, and that's to the detriment of our teachers and students." The United Nations is warning any further escalation in Gaza would be catastrophic, as Israel's Security Cabinet considers expanding military operations in areas not yet under its control. More than 61,250 Palestinians have been killed since the war began nearly two years ago, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Most of the population is now displaced and facing extreme hunger. At least 42 more Palestinians were reportedly killed on Thursday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Fox News Israel intends to completely occupy Gaza to remove Hamas and install a new civilian government, a move still pending cabinet approval. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq says such an escalation would severely worsen the crisis. "We have already made clear the fact that the occupation of the occupied territories cannot and must not continue. It is not accepted under international law. Regarding the comments, we'll have to see what actions the government takes, and we will respond accordingly. But we have already make clear our concerns that any expansion of the conflict will be catastrophic." The UN also warned that delivering aid will become nearly impossible if the fighting expands further. Cambodia and Thailand have formally agreed to a ceasefire following border clashes that began on the 24th of July. The deal was signed at an extraordinary General Border Committee (GBC) meeting in Kuala Lumpur, attended by officials from both nations and observers from China, Malaysia, and the US. The agreement commits both sides to halt all forms of fire, maintain current troop positions, and avoid military build-ups. Captured soldiers will be treated according to international humanitarian law. An ASEAN observer team, led by Malaysia, will monitor the ceasefire, with temporary oversight by defence attaches from ASEAN states. The two sides also pledged to keep communication lines open, hold a Regional Border Committee meeting within two weeks, and convene the next G-B-C session within a month. In rugby union, Tane Edmed says he's not surprised to have been picked in the Australian squad for the start of The Rugby Championship, despite recently being out of the team. With first-choice fly-half Tom Lynagh out with a concussion, Edmed has been picked in the 35-man squad to travel to Johannesburg to play South Africa in their tournament-opening game on Sunday week. Edmed has never played a Test for the Wallabies, but says his contact with coach Joe Schmidt made him feel he was a chance to be chosen, despite a poor ending to his Super Rugby season for the ACT Brumbies, and his not being picked in the Australian squad that recently played the British and Irish Lions. "I definitely thought there was a chance. I've been in close contact with Joe and the coaches, and they've always kind of said: stay ready. And despite the Super comp not going the way I would have liked, I've always thought I was a chance. Everyone potentially could get injured, and stuff can happen. So, you can never count yourself out. I've been ready, and I've stayed ready, and I'm keen to get in there."
Reuters
04-08-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US FDA names Sean Keveney as chief counsel
Aug 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday named Sean Keveney as its new chief counsel, placing him in charge of overseeing all legal matters at the health agency. Keveney most recently served as acting general counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, where he led legal efforts to implement key administration priorities and regulatory reforms under the Make America Healthy Again agenda. Before joining HHS, Keveney spent nearly 16 years at the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. He replaces Robert Foster, who was serving in an interim capacity following the abrupt resignation of former chief counsel Hilary Perkins, just two days after her appointment was announced. Perkins stepped down after Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri criticized her selection, describing her as "pro-abortion" and supportive of vaccine mandates. Foster, who has advised U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine regulation, will now assume the role of acting general counsel at HHS, the department confirmed.
E&E News
30-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
GOP renews deregulation push despite megalaw loss
As Republicans crafted their party-line megabill this summer, some conservative hard-liners hoped the legislation could be a vehicle for a long-sought rollback of agency rules. But instead, the budget reconciliation megabill passed without any language from the 'Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act,' which would dramatically expand congressional veto power over agency rules. Now, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — chief sponsors of the deregulatory bill — say they want to get 'REINS' over the finish line through any means necessary. Indeed, the House has included a version in fiscal 2026 spending legislation. Advertisement 'There is not a singular cut that we could make that would mean as much as long-term regulatory reform,' Cammack said in an interview. The 'REINS Act' would give Congress final approval over major rules. Sponsors also want to make it easier to scrap existing agency rules. The measure fits squarely within conservative government-shrinking priorities and has near universal support among the Republican conference. But while 'REINS' likely can pass the GOP-controlled House on its own — and did in 2023 — its chances of hitting 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster are slim. That landscape ups the stakes for Republican sponsors to work the bill into a must-pass funding package or a reconciliation bill, the latter of which requires only a 51-vote majority in the Senate. Yet a parliamentary scuffle that played out in final stages of the megabill fight indicates that conservatives face an uphill battle to get 'REINS' done. A reconciliation bust Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) said the White House backs his efforts. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Lee, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, made 'REINS' a top priority of his during the reconciliation process. He hoped to rewrite the rule-busting language to ensure it complied with the Byrd rule, which dictates that everything in a reconciliation package be budgetary in nature. But that effort ultimately fell short, with Lee being the only senator willing to bat for it. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against 'budgetary REINS,' as Lee called his provision, despite Lee meeting with her and redrafting the legislation numerous times. 'We had many, many iterations, lots of back and forth, and it was looking favorable. We were getting favorable responses. And then, I believe it was on the day of the bipartisan Byrd bath that we ended up getting an adverse ruling,' Lee said. According to Lee, President Donald Trump supported the inclusion of 'REINS' in the reconciliation bill. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. But among his fellow senators, Lee was alone in pushing the measure. Some GOP Senators doubted from the beginning that it would ever be eligible for inclusion in the reconciliation bill. Even Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who co-sponsors the stand-alone version of 'REINS,' was not in Lee's corner. Paul chairs the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which he confirmed to POLITICO's E&E News has jurisdiction over 'REINS.' But he left the language out of his committee's portion of the megabill. 'It's a policy, and it's difficult to put policy into a budget resolution,' Paul said in an interview. House action likely Lee told POLITICO's E&E News that he will attempt to fit the deregulatory language into a future reconciliation package — even if he has to continue to push for it alone on the Senate side. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants to do at least one, and potentially two, more reconciliation bills while Republicans have control of both chambers of Congress. 'I feel like, had we had more time, we could have worked out some of the bugs on ['REINS'],' Lee said. 'Even that adverse parliamentarian ruling is one that I think we could work through. That's a potential option.' On the House side, Cammack said she is preparing for 'all sorts of contingencies' when it comes to 'REINS.' Her next step is to put a standalone version of the bill on the House floor, where she predicts it will pass. She is also incorporating 'REINS' language into appropriations bills in the House. Johnson's office did not respond to request for comment about the effort. Neither of the appropriations bills passed by the House so far — Defense and Military Construction-VA — include language related to rulemaking authority. But the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, released last week, includes language barring new rules that are deemed by the White House to cost over $100 million or pose 'a major increase in costs or prices' for individuals, industries or government agencies. In a news release, the House Appropriations Committee said that the Financial Services bill 'codif[ies] the Regulations in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which curbs unelected bureaucrats from having unfettered regulatory power.' Although that language will likely pass the House, it may struggle to gain sufficient support in the Senate. If it does get stripped out of the appropriations process, Cammack is already looking toward using a second reconciliation process as a shot for 'REINS.' 'We're obviously very interested in a second attempt at a reconciliation process, especially given the fact that the Senate parliamentarian was green-lighting our language and then decided in the eleventh hour that she wasn't going to,' Cammack said. GOP skepticism Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at the Capitol in June. Despite his support for 'REINS,' he's skeptical of it passing in the current environment. | Francis Chung/POLITICO While Lee and Cammack are optimistic, other Senate Republicans remain doubtful that a parliamentarian ruling would change in a future reconciliation package. 'I don't know why it would change,' Paul said. 'I would like to get ['REINS'] passed. But short of getting 60 Republicans or Democrats having an epiphany, you know, it's hard to pass legislation.' Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) is similarly skeptical that 'REINS' could be included in a future reconciliation package. 'I just don't know how you'd word it so that it was budgetary,' he said. Still, he said, it remains important that Republicans keep pushing for major regulatory rollbacks. 'The 'REINS Act' is one of those things that puts a check on the co-equal branches of government. For me, it would be a very high legislative priority if we could get it done,' he said. This story also appears in Climatewire.
