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The 2025 Healthcare Odyssey
Welcome to the first edition of Law Update for 2025. As we begin this exciting year, we are pleased to turn our attention to one of the most dynamic sectors in the UAE and the broader GCC region – healthcare. Over the past several years, the region has seen unprecedented growth in this sector, driven by legislative advancements, technological innovations, and the increasing focus on sustainability and AI. As such, healthcare is set to be one of the most important sectors in the coming decade.
In this issue, we explore key themes that are significantly shaping the future of healthcare in the UAE, such as recent changes in foreign ownership laws. These reforms present a major opportunity for foreign investors, opening up new avenues for international collaborations and improving the overall healthcare infrastructure. The changes in ownership laws are an important milestone, and we provide an analysis of what this means for the industry and the various players involved.
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2025 is set to be a game-changer for the MENA region, with legal and regulatory shifts from 2024 continuing to reshape its economic landscape. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain are all implementing groundbreaking reforms in sustainable financing, investment laws, labor regulations, and dispute resolution. As the region positions itself for deeper global integration, businesses must adapt to a rapidly evolving legal environment.
Our Eyes on 2025 publication provides essential insights and practical guidance on the key legal updates shaping the year ahead—equipping you with the knowledge to stay ahead in this dynamic market.
A complete spectrum of legal services across jurisdictions in the Middle East & North Africa.
Biography
Sarah has over 13 years’ experience advising banking clients on various legal and regulatory matters. She also has expertise in project finance, debt capital markets, structured products, banks’ mergers and acquisitions, and general banking and finance. Sarah has assisted banking clients in complex corporate restructuring activities, banks’ mergers, bond offerings, leveraged buyouts, syndicated finance transactions, securitisation of loans portfolios, investment business start-ups, introducing structured products to the local market, insurance and re-insurance and other various matters.
Sarah’s particular expertise is banking matters, particularly drafting and negotiating loan agreements and the relevant security documentation on behalf of lenders and borrowers. She has, on many occasions, assisted banks in negotiations with their clients in project finance, syndicated finance and other types of bank facilities.
For achieving security creation and perfection, Sarah has built a strong reputation with the relevant authorities and regulators.
She has been awarded “Leading Lawyer” in the 21st/2011 Edition of the IFLR1000 – The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms. It was also mentioned that “Sarah El Serafy has a high profile in finance” in the 22nd/2012 Edition of the IFLR1000.
Recent Experience
- Advising the UAE Central Bank on the recent consumer protection regulation and standards from a legal and regulatory perspective.
- Advising Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange on their membership agreements and service agreements.
- Advising local banks on their membership in DGCX.
- Advising a Hong Kong based exchange on trading in VCCs for UAE clients and the regulatory framework.
- Advising on licencing and offering commodities trading and review of investment management agreements for local and international banks.
- Advising many UAE banks on corporate governance and revamp of governance structures.
- Assisting Qatar Transport Authority with drafting railway law.
- Advising a GCC central bank with drafting the insurance regulations.
- Assisting the Egyptian cabinet with drafting amendments to the Penal Code and the Banking Law.
- Assisting a leading GCC insurer with conversion of their business from captive insurance to commercial insurance.
- Advising an investment firm on the acquisition of UAE branches of a foreign bank.
- Advising a large group of investors in relation to the buyout of local debts and acquisition.
- Advising Qatar National Bank on the acquisition of a Turkish bank.
- Advising HSBC on the domiciliation of HSBC Jersey to the DIFC.
- Working on financing transactions and relevant security documents (bilateral and syndicated lending).
- Extensive experience in banking litigation matters and debt recovery issues.
Language(s)
- Arabic
- English
Education
2005 – LLB, Law School, English Department, Cairo University
Admission
2008 – Egyptian Bar Association
Practice(s)
Sector(s)
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