Dubai: Today, the UAE's Ministry of Economy announced that the amended Commercial Companies Law will come into effect on June 1, 2021, allowing foreign investors and entrepreneurs to establish and fully own onshore companies. But what does the law mean for business owners and entrepreneurs and when will the changes come into effect? Here is all you need to know. Hani Naja, Partner Corporate and Commercial at Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, spoke to Gulf News about the new law and the changes that had already been implemented over the years, leading up to the recent announcement. “The push for a relaxation in foreign direct investment in the UAE started a number of years ago. The first major change was in September 2018, with the issuance of the Foreign Direct Investment Law (FDI Law), which opened up the UAE market to foreign investors in certain sectors of the economy. The FDI law was then followed by the announcement on July 2019 of a Positive List of 122 business activities where foreign investors can own up to 100 per cent of the shares in an onshore company. The Positive List focused on the manufacturing, agricultural and services sectors,” he said.