Muscat – Oman’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a directive requiring all public joint-stock companies and investment funds to reduce the period for transferring dividends to shareholders and unitholders from 15 days to a maximum of seven working days from the date of the general meeting, board meeting, or record date.

The move aims to accelerate dividend distribution in the capital market, reflecting the efficiency and responsiveness of Oman’s regulatory framework.

The directive stipulates that disclosures regarding general meeting or board resolutions approving cash dividend distributions, as well as the record date for interim dividends, must include the date on which dividend transfers to investors’ bank accounts will begin. In all cases, transfers must commence no later than the seventh working day following the general meeting, board meeting, or record date.

To facilitate this, the FSA has instructed public joint-stock companies and investment funds to transfer approved cash dividends to Muscat Clearing and Depository (MCD) within four working days of the general meeting, board meeting, or record date. MCD is then required to credit the dividends to investors’ bank accounts within three working days of receiving the amounts from the issuers.

The directive follows an FSA study prompted by growing demands from investors and international entities. The review highlighted that previous procedures were increasingly unsuitable for current market requirements and failed to meet investor expectations, particularly given advances in payment technologies and faster transfer systems.