Services Between Related Foreign Companies No Longer Require a Foreign Business License

A newly issued Ministerial Regulation, published in the Royal Gazette on 25 June 2019, has lifted the constraint on majority foreign-owned companies providing services to other members of their group without first obtaining a Foreign Business License. Until recently, this meant that a majority foreign-owned company could not lend funds domestically or sub-lease office space to a related company within its group – essentially it could not set up as a “back-office service provider” - without first obtaining a Foreign Business License. The newly issued Ministerial Regulation will allow majority-owned foreign companies to reconsider how services are provided amongst group members.