Abu Dhabi, UAE: – His Excellency Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, chaired a meeting of experts from the Consultative Industry Group (CIG) Financial Reorganization Committee. The meeting included a number of specialists in bankruptcy and financial restructuring from global and local offices and companies. He praised the role of experts in restructuring and insolvency in financially reorganising struggling companies and bankruptcy cases and discussed with the business community the use of financial reorganisation tools and resorting to courts to request financial restructuring or bankruptcy. He emphasised the importance of benefiting from the practical expertise possessed by experts and consultants.

Both Attorney Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, and Dr Hussam Al Talhuni, Legal Advisor to the Minister of Finance – and Secretary of the Financial Restructuring Committee (FRC), presented interventions discussing the importance of involving experts from the private sector in developing financial reorganisation and restructuring services for struggling companies in the country, which will enhance investor confidence in investing in them. They also pointed to the importance of adopting the best rules, procedures, and practical practices in the field of insolvency to provide the best opportunities for the debtor from struggling companies and to protect creditors from the decrease in the value of the debtor’s money before paying the debts incurred by the companies.

The meeting featured a presentation by a specialist establishment, titled ‘The Duty of the Debtor’s Board Members in Filing for Insolvency’, where Haroon Ahmed, a Restructuring Advisory Partner at Grant Thornton UAE and Director of Capiter Technologies Holding Limited, participated.

This was followed by another presentation by Bruce Matthews, Partner - Transaction Advisory, at KPMG in the Lower Gulf – United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman, about ‘Prevention is Better than Cure – A Global Perspective on the Intervention and Support Provided by Financial Institutions during Insolvency Procedures’.

The experts discussed the main points related to amendments in the Bankruptcy/Commercial Insolvency Law during the meeting. They concluded with a general discussion on ways to develop financial reorganisation services, especially regarding interpretation and training, and ways to disseminate financial reorganisation procedures and its benefits to the community.

The Ministry of Finance formed the Consultative Industry Group for the Financial Restructuring Committee in 2022 as one of its initiatives to establish financial laws and legislation and adopt the latest innovative systems and technologies that meet the needs of citizens and residents and support business sectors in the country, in line with the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071 and as part of the commitment to prioritise achieving social welfare in the UAE.

The Financial Restructuring Committee specialises in developing and organising financial reorganisation and bankruptcy procedures in the United Arab Emirates. It is a permanent committee formed by the esteemed Cabinet Resolution No. (4) of 2018, consisting of nine members chaired by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and membership representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, Central Bank, Securities and Commodities Authority, Abu Dhabi Government, Dubai Government, and Sharjah Government. It provides financial restructuring services without any fees, outside the court framework, with the assistance of the Committee's Secretariat and external experts technically specialised in this type of procedure.

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