Business
Foreign Capital Investment Law allowing full foreign ownership
Royal Decree 50 of 2019 removed the minimum capital requirement and the general need for an Omani partner, permitting full foreign ownership in most activities.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Commercial divisions of the courts. Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre administers institutional arbitration.
- Deadline — 30 days to challenge a shareholder resolution
- Deadline — 90 days to apply to annul an arbitral award under the Arbitration Law
Governing law
- Commercial Companies Law, Royal Decree 18 of 2019
- Foreign Capital Investment Law, Royal Decree 50 of 2019
- Bankruptcy Law, Royal Decree 53 of 2019
- Commercial Agencies Law, Royal Decree 26 of 1977
In practice
The 2019 package of company, investment and bankruptcy laws was Oman's most significant commercial reform, removing the fifty-one per cent Omani ownership default and the OMR 150,000 minimum capital that had made foreign investment expensive. A restricted list of activities remains closed to full foreign ownership. The Bankruptcy Law of the same year introduced restructuring where previously only liquidation was practical. Duqm's special economic zone offers additional incentives and its own regulatory authority, and the Commercial Agencies Law still shapes distribution arrangements in ways foreign principals often underestimate.