2020年7月20日
根據第50/2019號皇家法令頒布的新《外國資本投資法》（新FCIL）於2020年1月1日生效。根據新FCIL第15條，發布了新FCIL實施細則（條例）由阿曼商業工業與投資部於2020年6月14日提出。本說明重新審視了新FCIL引入的變更，並簡要介紹了最近實施的法規的含義。
通過取消對阿曼公司擁有至少30％阿曼所有權的要求（通常是根據舊的1994年外國資本投資法），新FCIL旨在吸引外國投資者進入阿曼，而阿曼現在可以在沒有阿曼投資的情況下投資阿曼。需要任何當地股東。
自引入新FCIL以來，阿曼商業工業與投資部一直在積極開展有關根據新FCIL設立100％外資公司的申請的活動。
阿曼商業工業與投資部還接受了現有外國和阿曼擁有公司的所有權重組申請，導致這些公司成為100％外國擁有。根據我們在2020年2月發布的關於新FCIL的簡報，我們建議外國投資者審查任何股東與當地阿曼股東協議，以了解此協議是否保有為購買由阿曼股東持有的權益。當然，也應該對相關目標進行適當的調查，因為任何重組都可能觸發客戶/供應商合同的控制終止事件的變化。即使重組在合同上是可行的，外國投資者也可能希望在沒有公司本地所有權的情況下考慮對業務關係的影響，例如，阿曼本地主要客戶將如何應對？
一般而言，《條例》似乎是針對大型投資項目的，根據《條例》第8條，這些投資項目需要通過投資申請來申請。此外，《條例》第8條規定了外國投資申請書應附帶的要求，例如:要求投資者進行經濟可行性研究的要求。實施細則第八條所規定的其他要求包括：（一）項目時間表； （2）投資者的過往經驗。根據我們與阿曼商業工業與投資部官員的討論，如果現有公司正在進行重組，導致阿曼所有者退出，則不太可能需要《規章》第8條的要求。
《實施細則》第9條提到了可以從新FCIL中受益的投資項目需要滿足的各種條件和規則，這些條件和規則在“投資手冊”中進行了規定。 阿曼商業工業與投資部尚未提供投資手冊，因此我們等待有關此的進一步信息。
除鼓勵外國對阿曼的投資外，該條例還旨在吸引某些地區和部門的投資。例如，《條例》第17條規定，在阿曼最不發達地區建立的，未在《條例》中詳細說明的項目將受益於某些特權，例如，低租金的使用權和免除阿曼化要求。此外，《條例》第19條規定，對於在IT和物流部門中建立的項目，免徵稅收和關稅。
總而言之，該法規受到歡迎，因為它們提供了有關外國投資申請程序的更多詳細信息。但是，重要的是要注意，在現階段尚有某些文件（包含條件），手冊和應用程序尚未提供，因此尚不清楚該法規如何適用。鑑於阿曼商業工業與投資部由於COVID-19而僅在遠程運行，因此阿曼商業工業與投資部目前不進行一般詢問。
法規檔案下載：2020阿曼新投資法.pdf
July 20, 2020
The new Foreign Capital Investment Law (the New FCIL), promulgated by Royal Decree 50/2019, came into force on 1 January 2020. In accordance with Article 15 of the New FCIL, the Executive Regulations of the New FCIL (Regulations) were issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Oman (MOCI) on 14 June 2020. This note revisits the changes introduced by the New FCIL and takes a brief look at the implications of the recently introduced Regulations.
By removing the requirement for Omani companies to have at least 30% Omani ownership (as was generally the case under the old 1994 Foreign Capital Investment Law), the New FCIL is geared towards attracting foreign investors into Oman who can now invest in Oman without the need for any local shareholder.
Since the introduction of the New FCIL, there has been a bout of activity at the MOCI in respect of applications for the establishment of 100% foreign-owned companies under the New FCIL.
The MOCI has also been accepting applications for the ownership restructuring of existing foreign- and Omani-owned companies, resulting in such companies becoming 100% foreign-owned. As per our briefing article on the New FCIL in February 2020, we continue to recommend that foreign investors review any shareholders’ agreement with their local Omani shareholders to understand whether such agreement paves the way for a purchase of interests held by the Omani shareholder (such as by way of a call option). Of course, suitable due diligence on the relevant target should also be undertaken, given that any restructuring may trigger a change of control termination event on customer/supplier contracts. Even if the restructuring is contractually feasible, foreign investors may also wish to consider the impact on business relations without local ownership in the company – for example, how would key local Omani customers react?
As a general point, the Regulations appear to be geared towards large-scale investment projects, which (according to Article 8 of the Regulations) need to be applied for by way of an investment application that, as at today’s date, is not yet publicly available. Furthermore, Article 8 of the Regulations sets out certain requirements that should accompany an application for foreign investment such as the requirement for the investor to produce an economic feasibility study. It is not clear at this stage what form the economic study should take. Other items required by the application pursuant to Article 8 of the Regulations include: (1) a timetable of the project; and (2) previous experience of the investor.
Based on our discussions with officials at the MOCI, the requirements of Article 8 of the Regulations are unlikely to be required where an existing company is undergoing a restructuring which results in the exit of an Omani owner.
Article 9 of the Regulations refers to various conditions and rules that need to be satisfied in respect of investment projects which can benefit from the New FCIL, with such conditions and rules being set out in an "investment manual". The investment manual has not yet been made available by the MOCI and so we await further information on this.
In addition to encouraging foreign investment in Oman, the Regulations also aim to attract investment in certain locations and sectors. For example, Article 17 of the Regulations sets out that a project established in the least developed regions of Oman, which have not been detailed in the Regulations, will benefit from certain privileges such as low rentals on usufructs and exemptions from Omanisation requirements. Furthermore, Article 19 of the Regulations provides exemptions from taxes and customs duties for projects established in, amongst others, the IT and logistics sectors.
In summary, the Regulations are welcomed as they provide further details regarding the application process for foreign investment. However, it is important to note that, at this stage, there are certain documents (containing conditions), manuals and applications which are yet to be made available and so it is unclear how the Regulations apply. It does not help that the MOCI is not taking general enquiries, given that it is only operating remotely due to COVID-19. For now, and as stated above, the establishment of 100% foreign-owned companies is being considered by the MOCI on a case-by-case basis.
