2023-05-18
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issued this circular to amend Rule 300-1-4 of the Account Opening Rules for resident investors under the Foreign Investment Law. The amendments remove the mandatory requirement to obtain foreign or national company founding documents and a universal power of attorney, replacing them with flexible ownership structure verification mechanisms and post-account opening validation procedures. These changes streamline compliance for licensed foreign companies operating in the Kingdom while maintaining robust identity and authorization checks through reliable, independent sources.
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
Reference No.: 44082632 Date: 1444/10/28 Attachments: 2 copies
Circular Letter
To: Respected Parties, Peace be upon you, mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Subject: Amendment of Rule No. (4-1-300) of the Account Opening Rules.
Reference is made to Rule No. (4-1-300) concerning resident investors under the Foreign Investment Law, included in the Account Opening Rules notified via SAMA Circular Letter No. (67/6568) dated 1/11/1440H.
We hereby inform you of the amendment to the aforementioned Rule, as per the attached format. Please note that the key amendments are as follows:
Exclusion of the requirement to obtain the founding documents (such as commercial registration and memorandum of association) for the foreign or national company holding shares in a licensed foreign company in the Kingdom, and replacing it with a requirement to understand the ownership structure, identify the partners named in the memorandum of association or articles of incorporation, and verify them using documents, data, or information from a reliable and independent source, with the possibility of completing the verification process later after account opening under specific conditions.
Exclusion of the obligation to obtain a power of attorney (in all cases) for account management and operation, with the addition of a verification mechanism to confirm the validity of the authorization.
To respond and act accordingly effective from its date. Yours sincerely,
Al-Nu'man Yazeed bin Ahmed Al-Sheikh Deputy Governor for Supervision
Distribution Scope:
P.O. Box 2992 Riyadh 11169, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 11 463 3000 P.O. Box: 2992, Riyadh 11169, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 11 463 3000