Company Formation

It depends on your target market: a mainland company trades with the local market and government contracts without restriction, while a free zone entity offers full foreign ownership and tax advantages but limits onshore activity outside the zone. Many mainland activities now also allow 100% foreign ownership. The right choice balances your target clients, required licences, and corporate tax position.

The memorandum is a standard registered document that typically does not cover: deadlock resolution, pre-emption rights on share sales, good/bad leaver exit terms, share valuation mechanics, or non-compete obligations between partners. A shareholder agreement is the private document that governs all of this — its absence is the leading cause of the partner disputes we litigate.

By law you are entitled to inspect the company’s books and accounts, to your share of distributed profits, to a liability claim against the manager for mismanagement, and — in serious cases — to seek judicial removal of the manager or dissolution. We typically start with a formal notice and a general assembly request, then escalate to court with an application to appoint a forensic accounting expert.