This regime map is in review
Researched and published, but not yet through a second verification pass against the primary instruments. Everything below is cited, and every citation should be checked against the source before you rely on it. We would rather say this than let one newer page set the standard for the rest of the platform.
ID Exchange of Oman
The only market on this Exchange where every director of a listed company must be non-executive — the chief executive does not sit on the board at all.
Oman's Code of Corporate Governance for Public Listed Companies takes a position no other market on this Exchange takes: the entire board must be non-executive. The chief executive reports to the board rather than sitting on it, which removes the question of executive dominance that most governance codes spend their length managing. Boards run to between five and eleven members with a defined proportion independent, elected for three-year terms under the Capital Market Authority's supervision.
- ~110
- Companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange
- 100%
- Board members who must be non-executive
- 3 years
- Board term before re-election
Can a foreign director sit on a board here?
Foreign nationals serve on Omani boards, and the foreign capital investment law has widened participation — but sector conditions and Omanisation policy shape senior appointments.
- Residency test
- No general residency requirement for a non-executive director of a listed company; regulated and executive roles carry their own conditions.
- Nationality test
- Certain licensed and strategic activities retain Omani participation conditions, and Omanisation policy shapes senior appointments. Confirm the sector before assuming the general rule applies.
- Work authorisation
- A non-resident director attending board meetings travels on a business visit visa. Resident and executive roles require sponsorship and a labour clearance.
- Board language
- General-meeting documentation and filings are in Arabic; board papers at internationally owned entities are commonly in English.
- Time commitment
- Boards typically meet at least four to six times a year with committee cycles and an annual general meeting.
What you have to do
The appointment steps, in order.
- 1Candidacy and election by the general meeting for a three-year term
- 2Disclosure of the board's composition and independence classification to the Financial Services Authority
- 3Registration of the board change with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion
- 4For a bank or insurer, Central Bank of Oman or FSA approval before the appointment takes effect
What actually gets in the way
- The all-non-executive rule means the chief executive is not on the board, which changes the board's information flow and the director's relationship with management
- The three-year cycle means appointments cluster and mid-cycle entry depends on a casual vacancy
- General-meeting documentation and filings are in Arabic
- This regime map has not yet had a second verification pass — confirm the current Code provisions before relying on them
Board composition
What Oman requires of a board.
Each requirement is stated as arithmetic against the instrument that creates it, with who it binds. Nothing here is characterised as compliance or non-compliance — that is a legal conclusion about a specific company, and it is not ours to draw.
| Requirement | Threshold | Basis | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board composition | All members non-executive | Code of Corporate Governance for Public Listed Companies | Public listed companies |
| Board size | Between five and eleven members | Code of Corporate Governance | Public listed companies |
| Independent directors | A defined proportion of the board | Code of Corporate Governance | Public listed companies |
| Audit committee | At least three non-executive members, a majority independent, chaired by an independent director | Code of Corporate Governance | Public listed companies |
Independence and tenure
How long you may serve, and what ends it.
- Tenure cap
- Board terms run for three years and are renewable; independence is reassessed at each election against the Code's criteria.
- Cooling-off
- Independence is lost by employment with the company or its group, or by a material relationship, within the periods the Code prescribes.
Other tests
- Holding a shareholding above the prescribed threshold, personally or through relatives
- Representing a shareholder with a controlling interest
- A consultancy, supply or professional-service relationship with the company
- Family relationship within the prescribed degree to a board member or senior executive
What a seat pays
Board remuneration is approved by the general meeting, subject to the statutory cap, and disclosed in the annual corporate governance report.
- Where this comes from
- General meeting resolution and annual governance report disclosure.
- Committee uplift
- Sitting fees for committee work are typically separate from the annual remuneration.
- Tax
- There is no personal income tax in Oman on directors' fees. Withholding questions can arise on payments to non-resident entities.
The instruments this page relies on
Code of Corporate Governance for Public Listed Companies
Requires the board of a public listed company to consist entirely of non-executive directors, of whom a defined proportion must be independent, with a board of between five and eleven members elected for three years.
Financial Services Authority, Oman
Commercial Companies Law
Governs the Omani public joint stock company, including board election, duties, general meeting procedure and shareholder rights.
Sultanate of Oman
Code of Corporate Governance — committees
Requires an audit committee of at least three non-executive members, a majority independent and chaired by an independent director, together with a nomination and remuneration committee.
Financial Services Authority, Oman
Diversity requirements
Stated as the rule states it — quota, target or disclosure obligation.
- The Code addresses board composition and competence and requires disclosure in the annual corporate governance report; there is no gender quota.
How this regime map is maintained
Every requirement on this page is cited to the instrument that creates it, and the review date states when a person last checked it against the primary source. Nothing here is legal advice: rules change, and transitional provisions frequently apply. Verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
This regime map was last reviewed against primary sources in September 2026.
The demand thesis
Why seats open in Oman — and how an outsider reaches one.
This section is our reading of the market, not a statement of law. It is separated from the rules above for exactly that reason.
Why seats open
- The all-non-executive board is unusual and demanding: with no executive on the board, independent directors carry the whole burden of understanding the business.
- Vision 2040 diversification into logistics, tourism, mining and renewables has created entities with no domestic governance precedent.
- Divestment and listing programmes for state-linked assets bring new boards that must be compliant from listing.
- Family groups professionalising ahead of succession.
How you get in
- Audit-committee seats, where independence and competence requirements are explicit
- Newly listed and privatised entities assembling first boards
- Joint ventures with international partners in logistics, mining and energy
- Financial-services issuers where prior regulated experience is directly relevant
What this market is short of
- Non-executive seat on a listed company
- Chaired an audit committee
- Governed an energy transition or decarbonisation programme
Most receptive sectors
Live mandates
No mandates open in Oman right now.
Register your interest and you are matched against this market's briefs as they open — statutory, interim and advisory alike.
Questions
Oman, answered directly.
Is it true that Omani listed boards have no executive directors at all?
Yes. The Code of Corporate Governance for Public Listed Companies requires the board to consist entirely of non-executive directors. The chief executive reports to the board rather than sitting on it, which is unique among the markets on this Exchange and changes how the board obtains its information.
What does that mean in practice for a director?
It raises the burden. With no executive on the board, independent directors have no colleague in the room who runs the business day to day, so the quality of management reporting and the director's own diligence carry more weight than they would elsewhere.
ID Exchange of Oman
Is Oman actually one of your markets?
The mobility index scores it against your own record across four named components — corridor strength, legal openness, what this market is short of, and the language its boards work in — and tells you plainly when the answer is no.