Israel UAE | Business Guide | 2021

A few tips froma 70 -year-old law firm for doing business in our 72 -year-old country. The State of Israel was founded in 1948 . 2 years thereafter, the lawfirmof M. Firon&Co. was establishedby, inter alia, Israel’s first Attorney General. Since its inception and to this day, the firm maintained its leadership position. As reflected in its motto -'Built on Tradition. Driven by Innovation' Firon has always been at the forefront of Israeli legal practice. That was manifested inmanyways, one ofwhich was the firm’s decision to become truly international, a decision it took before any other Israeli firm. It is no wonder then, that today, with thewelcome signing of the Abraham Accords, our firm is found, yet again, at the forefront of thebusiness initiatives that are expected to flourish in the months and years to come. It is in this spirit that we wish to offer our newEmirati friends a few tips for doing business in Israel. 1. Language - while Englishmay not be quite as common in Israel as it is in theUAE, it is verywidely spoken and written within the business community. Agreements drafted and negotiated in English are commonplace, and, needless to say, such agreements are valid and enforceable in Israel (i.e. there is no legal requirement to draft your agreements in Hebrew). 2. No restriction on foreign currency - generally speaking, for decades, Israel hasenjoyedacompletely free and open market, in all respects related to foreign currency. Exchange rates for the NIS (New Israeli Shekel) are determined on the open market, based on supply and demand. There are no restrictions on the transfer of money into or out of Israel (other than certain regulatory reporting requirements as common in other western economies). 3. No limitationon foreignownership - foreigners, whether corporations or individuals are not precluded fromconductingbusiness in Israel. In fact, they are free to own assets, shares, partnership interests and evenprivately-owned real estate. It shouldbe noted that foreigners are not required to have local partners and are free to be sole proprietors of Israeli businesses. 4. Business culture - Israelis are considered tough negotiators. The negotiations and general style of discourse may be perceived as somewhat curt or even aggressive. It is no reason for concern. On the other hand, Israelis are often quite flexible when they have to be, creative, out-of-the box thinkers, and very fast to decide and act. 5. Legal system- Israel is traditionally a common law country. It has a well-developed legal system, with modern regulatory regimes in different fields including, among others, securities, competition, banking and insurance, credit and investments , privacy, telecommunication and more. Israeli courts are independent. While Israel has thehighestnumber of lawyers per capita anywhere in the world, international law firms do not have local branches there. Consequently, themajor local firms have evolved into sizable one-stop- shop operations. 70 Years of Experience at Your Service Tips for conducting business in Israel Jacob Enoch, Advocate Senior Partner & Head of M&A Dep., M. Firon & Co. Advocates Jacob_e@firon.co.il ● + 972 - 3 - 7540161 ● Your Israeli Legal Partner Jacob Enoch, Senior Partner & Head of M&A Department, M. Firon & Co. 43