GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Saudi Arabia Office is located in the King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh. It serves as a core foreign-related legal service provider supporting Chinese enterprises in implementing the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy. The team consists of Chinese foreign-licensed lawyers, locally licensed Saudi lawyers, and Sharia compliance specialists, with deep expertise in the full spectrum of Chinese enterprise investment scenarios in Saudi Arabia. We strictly abide by the practice regulations of the Saudi Ministry of Justice and the Saudi Bar Association, and provide full-process localised legal support.
This document sets out the official standardised fee specifications of Guozun Saudi Office for 2026. All quoted prices are exclusive of value added tax (the standard VAT rate in Saudi Arabia is 15%). Settlement is available in Saudi Riyal (SAR), Renminbi and US dollars. There are no bundled charges or hidden fees, and all costs are specified in writing in the engagement agreement.
I. Compliant Fee Models
In accordance with the Saudi Lawyers’ Practice Regulations and commercial legal service industry norms, and tailored to the service needs of Chinese enterprises, we offer five standardised billing methods:
1.Fixed package fee: Applicable to standardised non-litigation matters such as company incorporation, qualification filing and document review. The price is fixed upon signing, with no subsequent additional charges.
2.Hourly rate billing: Applicable to complex arbitration, special compliance due diligence and customised legal consultation. Fees are calculated based on billable working hours, with detailed timesheets issued monthly.
3.Proportion of subject matter fee: Applicable to property-related cases such as commercial disputes, asset mergers and acquisitions, and real estate transactions, with tiered proportional billing.
4.Contingency fee: Restricted to debt recovery, engineering payment collection and tort claim cases. Fees are charged at an agreed proportion after funds are recovered, with a maximum cap of 30% of the recovered amount.
5.Annual legal retainer: Year-round regular compliance services for enterprises, with a fixed annual fee, a dedicated team liaison, and 48-hour expedited response service.
II. Tiered Hourly Fee Rates for Lawyers
All lawyers at Guozun Law Firm’s Saudi Arabia Office are registered with the Saudi Ministry of Justice. Core personnel are proficient in Chinese, English and Arabic, and hold dual practice experience in Sharia law and Gulf commercial law. The tiered hourly rates are as follows:
2026 hourly rate range for Riyadh headquarters: 2,800 – 14,000 Saudi Riyals per hourTier coverage: Junior practising lawyers, intermediate specialist lawyers, senior partners, and seconded foreign affairs expert lawyers from Beijing headquarters.
Additional Billing Rules
(1)Off-site case handling outside Riyadh: 30%–50% surcharge for travel and fieldwork allowance
(2)72-hour urgent cases / holiday expedited service: uniform 50% expedite surcharge
(3)Cases involving cross-border GCC legal application: 20% rate uplift(4) Trilingual court hearing / negotiation simultaneous interpretation service: 15% rate uplift
III. Fee Schedule for Core Practice Areas
Aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, foreign investment regulation and demand for energy and infrastructure services, we have defined seven core business segments, fully covering the high-frequency needs of Chinese enterprises:
1.Foreign Investment & Corporate Commercial Compliance: 20,000 – 650,000 SAR
(1)End-to-end handling of SAGIA foreign investment licences, Commercial Registration (CR) and MISA investment filing
(2)Establishment and deregistration of Saudi limited liability companies, branch offices and free zone representative offices
(3)Equity structure adjustment, foreign shareholding ratio compliance, and Sharia-compliant revision of articles of association
(4)Saudization compliance review and special compliance for employment quotas
(5)Tax compliance, Zakat tax planning, annual enterprise inspection and liquidation services
(6) Entry compliance for NEOM, Red Sea Project and King Abdullah Economic City free zones
2.Energy & Large-Scale Infrastructure Legal Services: 120,000 – 2,000,000 SAR
(1)Investment licensing and compliance due diligence for oil and gas, photovoltaic, wind power, hydrogen energy and new energy projects
(2)Drafting of EPC general contracting contracts, compliance for project tendering and bidding, and handling of construction period claim disputes
(3)Mining exploitation, mining title processing and compliance review of resource development cooperation agreements
(4)Public project PPP cooperation, government contract performance compliance and risk prevention
(5)Cross-border engineering mergers and acquisitions, asset delivery and political risk compliance assessment
3.Labour Employment & Expatriate Compliance: 7,000 – 500,000 SAR
(1)Bilingual compliant drafting of Saudi localised labour contracts, non-compete agreements and employee handbooks
(2)Full-process legal support for IQAMA work visas, family visas and exit permits
(3)Saudization employment assessment, GOSI social insurance compliance and employee welfare system establishment
(4)Layoff and dismissal compliance plans, labour dispute mediation and representation in Ministry of Labour arbitration
(5)Special consultation on expatriate employment bans and professional qualification compliance
4.Intellectual Property & Digital Economy Compliance: 6,500 – 720,000 SAR
(1)Registration, renewal and opposition enforcement of Saudi trademarks, patents and industrial designs
(2)Compliance with the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and establishment of cross-border data transfer compliance frameworks
(3)Compliance for Middle East e-commerce platforms, live-streaming e-commerce and payment licence compliance review
(4)Brand infringement enforcement, customs IP filing and administrative law enforcement representation
(5)Localisation compliance and licensing for artificial intelligence and technology enterprises
5.Islamic Finance & Commercial Investment & Financing: 90,000 – 1,800,000 SAR
(1)Legal review of Sharia-compliant financial products (Sukuk bonds, financial leasing)
(2)Cross-border investment and financing, foreign exchange control compliance, and fund entry-exit compliance solutions
(3)Corporate financing, equity financing and Sharia-compliant adaptation of joint venture agreements
(4)Compliance review of bank guarantees, letters of credit and commercial guarantees
6.Commercial Dispute Resolution & Cross-Border Enforcement: 35,000 – 12,000,000 SAR
(1)Representation in Saudi commercial court litigation and arbitration at the Dubai / Saudi Centre for International Arbitration
(2)Full-case handling of China-Saudi cross-border trade disputes, contract breaches and payment recovery
(3)Recognition and enforcement of foreign and Chinese arbitral awards and court judgments in Saudi Arabia
(4)Special representation in administrative reconsideration, government penalty appeals and customs disputes
(5)Legal services for property preservation, asset investigation and debt enforcement
7.Visa Immigration & Private Wealth Legal Services: 19,000 – 100,000 SAR
(1)End-to-end services for Saudi Golden Visa, investor visa and premium talent visa
(2)Permanent residency applications, status planning and family reunification legal support
(3)Compliance and contract review for Saudi real estate sale, lease and mortgage
(4)Cross-border wealth succession, family trusts and Sharia-compliant estate planning
(5)Personal criminal compliance consultation and defence representation for misdemeanour cases
Note on special cases: For major economic crimes, cross-border smuggling, drug offences and felony criminal defence cases, no fixed fee applies. Quotations are customised individually based on case complexity, evidence collection difficulty and team configuration.
IV. Core Factors Influencing Service Fee Pricing
1.Cross-border compliance complexity: Fees increase accordingly for cases involving dual China-Saudi legal jurisdiction alignment, cross-border evidence collection and multi-party entities
2.Industry-specific thresholds: Fees for energy infrastructure, Islamic finance and free zone special services are higher than ordinary civil and commercial services
3.Service timeline requirements: Expedited case filing, time-limited due diligence and holiday work incur an expedite surcharge in accordance with standards
4.Service package scale: One-stop all-inclusive services enjoy a comprehensive discount of 15%–25% compared with individual item purchases
5.Team configuration level: Joint case handling by headquarters experts and collaborative services by multi-disciplinary experts are priced according to team size
6.Case risk level: For contingency fee cases, the charging proportion is linked to the success rate, recovery cycle and case difficulty
V. Third-Party Reimbursable Expenses
In addition to legal service fees, the following expenses are settled at official Saudi rates / actual expenditure, with no intermediary charges levied by the firm:
1.Government administrative fees: Company incorporation fees, visa fees, court litigation fees, intellectual property official fees and licence filing fees
2.Notarisation and authentication fees: Saudi local commercial notarisation, China-Arab consular authentication and Hague apostille, charged per document
3.Professional translation fees: Chinese-Arabic legal document written translation, court simultaneous interpretation and conference interpretation, charged at standard rates
4.Professional personnel fees: Appearance fees for technical experts, industry consultants and expert witnesses, settled per occurrence
5.Field travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation and fieldwork allowances for off-site case handling, reimbursed against actual receipts
6.Financial handling fees: Cross-border transfer, currency exchange and bank guarantee fees are borne by the instructing party
VI. Important Reminder
All fee schedules are official reference prices. The final service fee will be clearly agreed in writing in the Engagement Agreement, based on your specific requirements, case circumstances and scope of services.