**#8 REGULATION WATCH- GAFI issues new guidelines for voluntary liquidation of companies: The General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI) issued on Thursday new guidelines for companies looking to voluntarily liquidate, Al Mal reports. Companies looking to liquidate must present GAFI with an official memo indicating the liquidation has been approved by its owner, partners, or EGM in order to receive GAFI’s legal approval. Government bodies, including the tax and customs authorities will be required to indicate whether the company has any outstanding dues within 120 days of receiving its paperwork. Liquidating companies will also be required to publish in a “widely circulated” newspaper an announcement of its plans and timeline for the process and liquidating distribution within a week of receiving approval to begin the process. Liquidated companies will be required to submit a report on their final balance sheet at the end of the process. The Bankruptcy Act, which the House of Representatives had approved in January, aims to cut the liquidation period for companies to nine months, instead of a previous average of more than two years.