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Read more informationOman’s New Commercial Companies Law 2019
The new law in Oman related to companies viz. Commercial Companies Law (hereinafter “CCL”) is in effect and it replaces the older Companies Law 1974. The amendment brings the commercial companies’ law in line with new global corporate developments.
The gist of the new amendments are as follows:
New CCL permits companies to be incorporated with a single natural person corporate shareholder. This may assist in mitigating risks pertaining to inheritance when one shareholder is a natural person and the other is a corporate entity.
New CCL is silent on this aspect
The liability of authorized managers is now almost equivalent to the liability of directors owning joint stock companies.
The authorized managers should formally notify at shareholders’ meetings of any conflict of interests they have in any transaction.
New CCL fully prohibits a company from lending to its authorized managers and shareholders. Infact, such facility under the new ccl is deemed void and unenforceable and there is liability of loan recipient to compensate back the amount to the company.
Shareholders can request documents pertaining to the companies in which they held shares upto ten years back.
B. JOINT STOCK COMPANIES
The company shall under the new CCL maintain a register of interests to record director(s) interests in any transactions
The distribution of cash declared to shareholders may be partly converted into equity
The shares of joint stock companies may be converted into GDRs so that the investors outside the Sultanate of Oman may trade the equity of companies listed on the Muscat Stock Market.
Due the changes ushered by the new CCL, the companies have to adjust the articles of association and implement the new legal provisions and file the resolutions and other documents with Ministry of Commerce. Any failure to comply with the mandate may result in companies or authorized managers or directors being penalized.