Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Enterprise Calendar — The GCC Edition

26-27 January 2016 (Tuesday-Wednesday): U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meets. Fed chair will not hold press conference.

07-09 Feb 2016 (Sunday-Tuesday): Saudi Water & Electricity Forum, Al Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh.

09 Feb 2016 (Tuesday): National Sports Day, National holiday, Qatar. Held the second Tuesday of every February. View the official site in Arabic.

25 Feb 2016 (Thursday): Kuwait National Day, National holiday.

26 Feb 2016 (Friday): Iranian legislative elections for both the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts.

March 2016: The UAE is set to publish new federal fire safety codes, with a special focus on flammable cladding following its role in the fire at The Address tower in Dubai.

06 Mar 2016 (Sunday): March Bank Day, Bank holiday, Qatar.

12-14 Apr 2016 (Tuesday-Thursday): Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2016, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi.

01 May 2016 (Sunday): Labour Day, National holiday, Bahrain.

05 May 2016 (Thursday): Israa and Miraj, National holiday, UAE. Date is tentative and subject to change.

09-12 May 2016 (Monday-Thursday): Project Qatar 2016, Doha Exhibition & Convention Center (DECC), Doha.

06 June 2016 (Monday): Beginning of Ramadan, National holiday, UAE. Date is tentative and subject to change.

13 June 2016 (Monday): Qatari procurement law, Law No. 24 of 2015, is set to go into effect. Among the changes, Qatari SMEs are promised 30% of contractual work from national projects, although how that work will be distributed among them is as of yet unclear. The law will also consolidate all online government tendering systems into one portal hosted by the Ministry of Finance.

06 Jul 2016 (Wednesday): Eid al-Fitr, National holiday, UAE. No additional days have been allocated for this holiday in the UAE at this time. Date is tentative and subject to change.

06-08 July (Wednesday-Friday): Eid al-Fitr, National holiday, Bahrain. Dates are tentative and subject to change.

07 Jul 2016 (Thursday): Eid al-Fitr, National holiday, Oman. Date is tentative and subject to change.

07-09 Jul (Thursday-Saturday): Eid al-Fitr, National holiday: KSA, Qatar, Kuwait. Dates are tentative and subject to change.

02 Sep 2016 (Friday): Haj season, National holiday, UAE.

10-11 Sep 2016 (Saturday-Sunday): Arafat Day and Eid al Adha, National holiday, UAE. Date is tentative and subject to change.

13-15 Sep 2016 (Tuesday-Thursday): Eid al Adha, National holiday, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait. Oman is marking only 13 Sep 2016 (Tuesday) as a national holiday at this time. Dates are tentative and are subject to change.

23 Sep 2016 (Friday): Saudi National Day, National holiday.

02 Oct 2016 (Sunday): Hijri New Year, National holiday: UAE, Bahrain.

10-11 Oct 2016 (Monday-Tuesday): Ashura, National holiday, Bahrain. Dates are tentative and subject to change.

30 Nov 2016 (Wednesday): Commemoration Day, National holiday, UAE.

Late November / early December: Second US-Saudi CEO Summit, organized by the US and Saudi Chambers of Commerce, Washington D.C. Exact date and venue TBD.

02-03 Dec 2016 (Friday-Saturday): UAE National Day, National holiday.

11 Dec 2016 (Sunday): Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday, National holiday: UAE, Bahrain. Date is tentative and subject to change.

12 Dec 2016 (Monday): Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday, National holiday: Kuwait, Oman. The day is marked as an observance in KSA but is not a national holiday in either KSA or Qatar. Date is tentative and subject to change.

14 Dec 2016 (Wednesday): Qatari labor law, Law No. 21 of 2015, goes into effect. Among the changes to the law is a new clause permitting expatriates who finish fixed contracts to no longer need their sponsor’s approval to take up another job. The law has been criticized as enacting cosmetic change; expatriates wishing to leave the country will still require permission from their sponsor to leave, albeit indirectly by going through an MOI committee. Read the law in Arabic here (pdf) and an unofficial translation here.

16-17 Dec 2016 (Friday-Saturday): Bahrain National Day, National holiday. Held annually on 16 December.

18 Dec 2016 (Sunday): Qatari National Day, National holiday.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

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