Blue Chi’s

Unlike the company types that I previously talked about, this is a real form of a company and is not a partnership. In the UK there is one main set of rules that governs all the forms of companies (Public, Private, Limited, etc), here in Oman we have a major distinction between companies with a capital of more than RO 500,00 and those with a capital less than that value. Companies with a capital worth more than RO 500,000 are called Joint Stock Companies, while companies with a smaller capital are called Limited Liability Companies, even though both forms offer limited liability to its shareholders. The Omani Commercial Companies Law deals with each of these forms on its own.

The basic definition of a joint stock company is the same as that of an LLC, it is a commercial company whose capital is divided into equal negotiable shares. A distinction between this one an LLC is that the latter cannot have more than 40 members. The minimum number of members is 3 to a joint stock company and 2 to a limited liability company. The liability of members of both forms is limited to the payment of the value of the shares subscribed. The government can solely or jointly establish a company, and if does so, it is exempt from provisions regarding number of shareholders.

The name of a joint stock company must be followed by either “Limited Omani Joint Stock Company” (SAOC [Abbreviation is of French origin?! Societe Anonyme Omani Closed] {شركة مساهمة عمانية مغلقة Ø´ Ù… ع Ù…} or “General Omani Joint Stock Company [SAOG Societe Anonyme Oman General]{شركة مساهمة عمانية عامة Ø´ Ù… ع ع}.

The company will be required to have a minimum of two million Omani Rials to be able to offer its shares to the public.

Promoters (مؤسسين) of a public company must own 30% to 60% of the shares and issue the rest to the public. A single promoter cannot own more than 20% of the shares, except at certain exceptions mentioned in the law, but the total amount owned by the promoters shall not exceed 60%.