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Royal Decree 59/2014, which came into force on November 11, has introduced important amendments to Oman’s Capital Market Law (CML).

These include changes in applicable law concerning acquisitions of significant stakes (25% and above) in public joint stock companies. The changes expand the information that a prospective acquirer needs to provide the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in its application for the CMA’s consent to the acquisition and introduce additional obligations that the prospective acquirer needs to fulfill in relation to the acquisition.

Other amendments are:-

• changes to the protocol for constituting the board of directors of the Muscat Securities Market;
• inclusion of new provisions in the CML which deal with the issuance, listing and trading of Sukuk;
• empowering brokers to sell securities purchased on behalf of a client, which are not paid for (i.e. there is a client default) instead of merely allowing a freeze on dealing with such securities as was the case previously;
• augmenting the powers of the CMA to investigate offences and sanction offenders.

For more on the implications of the changes or any aspect of Oman’s capital markets law, contact Mansoor Malik or Ardeshir Patel.