Competition & Antitrust Lawyers in Jeddah

Competition & antitrust in Jeddah: a law reaching even activity outside Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Competition Law prohibits agreements restricting competition between competing firms, such as price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging, and output restriction. Importantly, the law also applies to activity occurring outside the Kingdom's borders if its effect extends to harming competition within the Saudi market, making multinational companies subject to this law even if their headquarters aren't based in Saudi Arabia.

Economic concentration notification thresholds

The General Authority for Competition must be notified of any economic concentration (merger, acquisition, or joint venture) at least 90 days before completion, if the combined sales or assets of the parties exceed the financial thresholds set in the implementing regulation (SAR 200 million in global sales at minimum, with additional Saudi market-specific conditions). Completing the transaction without this approval is a statutory violation exposing parties to fines, and the deal may be unwound entirely.

Fines: a percentage of sales, not a fixed amount

The penalty for violating the Competition Law can reach 10% of the violating firm's total annual sales, or three times the gains obtained from the violation, whichever is greater, doubling on repeat offense. Obstructing an enforcement officer or withholding information from them carries a fine of up to 5% of annual sales or SAR five million. These figures make assessing competitive risk before any distribution or joint pricing agreement a necessity, not a luxury.

The leniency program: an exit for those who come forward

The Authority offers a leniency program granting full or partial exemption from penalties to a firm involved in a prohibited agreement in exchange for voluntarily disclosing the agreement's details and providing sufficient evidence before the Authority discovers it from another source. Timing matters here, as priority is usually given to whoever comes forward first.

Our competition law services

• Assessing competitive risk in distribution and joint pricing agreements before signing
• Filing economic concentration notifications with the Competition Authority for merger and acquisition deals
• Defending firms in Competition Authority investigations and leniency program applications
• Appealing Authority decisions before the Board of Grievances

How we start

1. We review your existing commercial agreements for any potential competitive risk
2. We file required notifications before any deal requiring Authority approval
3. We represent you in any investigation or leniency application before the Competition Authority

To assess competition risk in your deal or business activity in Jeddah, contact us on WhatsApp.

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