Oman Commentary
2019 has been a year of change for those conducting business in the Sultanate of Oman, as the government continues with its plans to strengthen and diversify the country’s economy in the face of regional instability and a world moving towards a post-oil future.
Some of the key changes to the business landscape that have occurred during 2019 include the introductions of a new Commercial Companies Law, RD18/2019 (CCL); a new Privatisation Law, RD 51/2019 (Privatisation); a new Public Private Partnerships Law, RD52/2019, (PPP); the issue by the Omani Capital Markets Authority of the Takeover and Acquisition Regulations for public joint stock companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market, Decision No. 2/2019, (Takeover Code); and changes to the Omani tax system, which have seen both the temporary suspension of the application of withholding tax and the introduction of new ‘sin taxes’ on the consumption of products such as tobacco and alcohol.
