Chris Johnson

Upcoming Saudi Holidays, Events, Webinars, and Conferences USSBC Program: For a schedule of upcoming U.S.-Saudi Business Council (USSBC) events and webinars see here. Future of Desalination International Conference: September 11-13 Saudi National Day: September 23, 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar: November 21-December 18, 2022 Dakar Rally 2022: December 31, 2022-January 15, 2023 Public Sector and…

Upcoming Saudi Holidays, Events, Webinars, and Conferences USSBC Program: For a schedule of upcoming U.S.-Saudi Business Council (USSBC) events and webinars see here. NEOM Jeddah Exhibition: August 1-14 FIFA World Cup Qatar: November 21-December 18, 2022 Dakar Rally 2022: December 31, 2022-January 15, 2023 Public Sector and Significant Updates  NEOM Design Announced: Crown Prince Mohammed…

New Companies Law The Council of Ministers has approved a new Companies Law, addressing the following. Consolidation. Commercial, not-for-profit and professional entities will be combined under a single regulatory framework.  Family Businesses. Allows family corporate charters to manage common assets and address governance, management, employment of relatives and distribution of profits. Simplified Stock Company. Allows…

In 2005 Saudi Arabia was admitted to membership in the World Trade Organization. while many hoped that trade embargoes had become anachronistic in a post-cold war global economy, the Kingdom wisely sought to guarantee access to foreign markets for critical oil and petrochemical exports, risks that current anti-Russian trade embargoes have once again highlighted. In…

I was honored to moderate a panel last week in the first of AmCham Saudi Arabia’s 6-event Public Private Partnership (PPP) series with Esmail Al-Solom (National Infrastructure Fund/NIF), Salman Badr (National Center for Privatization/NCP), Nasser Al-Shawaf (Al-Bawani), Abdulelah Al-Sheikh (Jacobs Engineering) and Mohammed Al-Balwi (Tamasuk Holdings). While slow to blossom since the unveiling of Vision…

The Diplomatic Dialogue is a public/private partnership between business and diplomatic communities joining together in a common mission of recognizing and valuing our relationship with our Saudi hosts, and seeking to enhance the local business climate to the common benefit. Last Sunday I moderated the latest in our AmCham Saudi Arabia’s Diplomatic Dialogue series, on…

The Diplomatic Dialogue is a public/private partnership between business and diplomatic communities joining together in a common mission of recognizing and valuing our relationship with our Saudi hosts, and seeking to enhance the local business climate to the common benefit. Last Sunday I moderated the latest in our AmCham Saudi Arabia’s Diplomatic Dialogue series, on…

Ramadan Kareem! In the popular imagination little happens during Ramadan, though this stereotype has once again been contradicted by experience; as has typically been the case we find ourselves challenged by the flow of new projects, as Saudi families reunite in the Kingdom and join arms nightly in celebrating iftar, while in parallel concluding new…

How Private, How Local? While in many ways similar to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Saudi Arabia’s new Personal Data Privacy Law (PDPL) is in some ways stricter; it may arguably conflict with a National Data Governance Policy allowing data to be transferred freely abroad with informed consent, placing Saudi Arabia with China among…

IR Global, the world’s largest exclusive network of advisory firms is delighted to introduce Christopher H. Johnson of  Johnson & Pump. Christopher has joined IR as our exclusive Commercial Law Member in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Johnson specializes in international and domestic transactions and claims, representing global firms in all aspects of international business. He has…