Saudi Arabia: Entry into force with grace period of Competition Law 2019 including merger control regulation

On 6 March 2019, the Competition Law was entered into force through Royal Decree M/75. The 2019 law applies broadly domestically and abroad to commercial entities that might "have an adverse effect on fair competition within the Kingdom". The previous law had a narrow scope, primarily focusing on reducing monopolistic practices, while the 2019 law expands its scope to combatting anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and economic concentration. The previous law had a narrow scope, primarily focusing on reducing monopolistic practices, while the 2019 law expands its scope to combatting anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and economic concentration. Any two commercial entities that wish to conduct a merger, an acquisition or a joint venture are required to request approval from the General Authority for Competition (GAC) if a certain threshold is met (the executive regulations set the threshold). When investigating "economic concentration" requests, the GAC is to issue a decision within 90 days. Decisions include approval, conditional approval, and refusal.