Thursday, May 30, 2013

Impetus to Omanisation in Banking

The Central Bank of Oman (“CBO”) recently issued Circular no. BM 1105 dated 31 March 2013 (“2013 Circular”) which grants further clarity and impetus to Omanisation in the banking sector.

With the overall Omanisation requirement of 90%, the banking sector is one of the highest localized sectors in Oman.  According to recent statistics issued by the CBO, most banks in the Sultanate have achieved an overall Omanisation ratio of over 92.5%.

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Leave Nothing to Chance - The Case for Bespoke Arbitration Clauses

Most projects/transactions thankfully do not end in dispute but, when they do, the first thing a legal adviser will look and hope for in the subject contract is a bespoke and carefully drafted dispute resolution clause.  If, at the time of drafting a contract, parties carefully consider the likely type and value of dispute that may arise under the contract, and put thought into how they would like to exit the contractual relationship in the event of a dispute, then the chance of resolving any future dispute economically and successfully is greatly increased.

Internationally, arbitration is becoming a preferred method of dispute resolution.  Even in jurisdictions with trusted and efficient (but often overly prescriptive and increasingly costly) court systems, contract parties are increasingly choosing arbitration for the flexibility it can bring to resolving disputes.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

When Having an Auditor is Required for an Omani LLC

Under the CCL, all Omani joint stock companies are required to have an auditor review their accounts.

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Remuneration of Directors

In recent times, the Western corporate world has witnessed ‘shareholder spring’ spurred by growing investor concern that many companies’ executive and director pay and perquisites are excessively high and are not sufficiently justified by the performance of the companies. While investor reactions have ranged from non-existent to high-intensity depending on the company, the overall growing trend of examining executive pay more closely has brought the issue of executives’ and directors’ remuneration to centre stage.  In that spirit, this article examines the rules around such remuneration in Oman.

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Key Issues In Omani Labour Law

There are a number of important points of Oman labour law that we see frequently enough that we believe they are worth highlighting here.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Seller Representations in Real Estate Sale and Purchase Agreements

Oman’s growing demand for housing, continued focus on building tourism facilities, and strong overall economic conditions have driven the development of many new residential and commercial real estate projects in the Sultanate over the past few years.  In today’s buoyant real estate market, it is as important as ever for buyers and sellers to understand the key terms of the sale and purchase agreements (“SPA”) through which real estate transactions are frequently carried out.

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