In Oman, companies can be established either in the mainland or in free and special economic zones, which offer significant advantages over mainland incorporation (e.g. in terms of share capital requirements, taxation, omanization, etc.).

We share a guide on choosing free and special economic zones in Oman prepared by our colleagues from the law firm BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP.

Our colleagues make a conclusion that all free and special economic zones offer similar conditions for doing business, however, they note that Salalah and Sohar are more popular and developed free economic zones with better infrastructure.

In addition, it should be noted that purely holding companies cannot be established in free and special economic zones. To alleviate this restriction, it is proposed that one company both performs the functions of a holding company and carries out any commercial activity (e.g., trading). In this case, the company will be able to enjoy all the advantages offered by a particular free or special economic zone.