MUSCAT (The Thursday Times) — Oman has put in place the founding laws for its planned International Financial Centre, a step the centre’s regulators say clears the way for it to begin registering companies and to start licensing financial firms in early 2027.
Royal decrees issued this week set out three laws for the centre, known as IFC Oman: an Operating Law, a Regulatory Law, and a Courts Law. They build on Royal Decree No. 8/2026, which created the centre and its main institutions earlier this year.
“The issuance of these laws marks a decisive and key milestone for IFC Oman,” said Mulham bin Basheer al Jarf, the chairman of the centre’s Regulatory Authority Board. “This clear and certain framework will give global capital and enterprise further confidence in IFC Oman.”
Registers, regulators, and courts
The Operating Law creates the office of a Registrar-General, sets rules for keeping public registers, and gives the centre powers to check that businesses operating in or through it continue to comply.
The Regulatory Law defines how financial and related services will be supervised, and sets out the powers of the centre’s regulator, with a stated aim of market confidence, transparency, financial stability, and investor protection.
The Courts Law covers the centre’s Dispute Resolution Authority, which is to run an independent system for settling commercial disputes based on common law, the model used by financial centres elsewhere in the Gulf.
Next step: the rulebook
“With this legal foundation now in place, our focus is on finalising the regulations and rules, and building the capabilities needed to open for business and begin licensing operations in early 2027,” al Jarf said.
Oman is the latest Gulf state to build a separate financial zone with its own laws and courts, joining established centres in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha as the sultanate tries to draw foreign investment and widen its economy beyond oil and gas. The centre did not say how many firms it expects to attract or give a launch date beyond early 2027.
