(Bloomberg) –The United Arab Emirates’ cabinet passed a long-awaited insolvency law for individuals, aimed at making the country a more attractive place to do business.
The legislation’s passage was reported Sunday on Twitter by state-run WAM news agency.

The Gulf nation, home to regional business hub Dubai, has been contending with an economic slump caused by low oil prices, forcing it to introduce incentives to attract investment and foreign talent.

The UAE has been promising to introduce insolvency laws for years. The absence of legislation was widely blamed for the flight of thousands of Dubai residents who lost jobs during the 2008 global financial crisis. Faced with the possibility of jail time, many said they had no choice but to leave after the economic slowdown left them unable to pay debts.

#UAE Cabinet has approved a federal law to regulate cases of insolvency of natural persons. pic.twitter.com/fZip0hhNrO

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) November 17, 2019

Bankruptcy legislation was to have applied first to companies, and only later to individuals. The statement from WAM made no mention of a law for companies.

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The legislation will take effect in January. No further details were provided.