Please fill in the form below and we'll contact you with the information you need. The rules of commerce are generally similar to the west European practice. Any Kuwaiti of GCC national over 21 years of age can carry commerce in Kuwait, provided he s she does not have any personal restriction. A foreign company may not set up branch in Kuwait and may not perform any business activities in the country except through a Kuwaiti agent. In addition foreign individuals and corporations may not acquire commercial license in their own name nor may they own real estate in Kuwait.
Foreigners can only buy shares quoted on the local stock exchange by investing in mutual funds.
To do business in Kuwait a business license is necessary. General trading , contracting importing and industrial licenses are obtained from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. For many particular commercial activities specific licenses are required and these are often issued by a ministry that controls a particular activity, e.g publishing licenses are issued by the ministry of Information. Business licenses are issued only to Kuwaiti nationals and Kuwaiti companies and in some cases to GCC nationals and companies. Costs are usually KD 100 per license.