Kuwait Cabinet Approves Draft Decree-Law Amending Companies Law No. 1 of 2016

Kuwait's Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, approved on September 30, 2026 a draft decree-law amending provisions of the Companies Law No. 1 of 2016. Officials said the amendments aim to facilitate company formation and strengthen confidence in commercial dealings, as part of a broader effort to build a more flexible and transparent business environment. Under the draft amendments, company-related legal procedures and transactions - from establishment through operation, including changes to articles of association and bylaws - will no longer require separate notarized documentation. Instead, registration in the Commercial Register will itself serve as the record binding the company's articles of association, amendments, and extraordinary general assembly resolutions on third parties. The draft law also allows self-employed professionals to establish single-owner professional companies, with existing offices and companies given a one-year grace period to adjust their status, and it abolishes joint venture companies, which were not previously subject to registration or publication requirements. In the same session, the Cabinet approved a draft decree repealing Decree No. 240 of 2012, which established the Silk City (Madinat Al-Hareer) and Bubiyan Island Development Authority, and a separate draft decree-law amending Law No. 5 of 1982 to restructure the Zakat House board of directors from 12 to seven members, to be chaired by the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs with the Zakat House Director-General as vice-chair. The draft decree-laws were referred to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for further constitutional procedures. For businesses and professional service providers operating in Kuwait, the reforms signal a simplified path to incorporation and a reduced documentation burden once enacted.