The launch event, which was held today (23 March) at PDO’s Learning and Development Centre at Mina Al Fahal, was attended by OGCS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sayyid Hamed bin Sultan Al Busaidy, PDO External Affairs and Value Creation Director Eng. Abdul-Amir bin Abdul-Hussain Al Ajmi, representatives from both organisations, and SLCC CEOs and chairmen.
SLCCs are closed Omani shareholding companies (SAOCs) set up jointly by the government and PDO 10 years ago, which are owned by more than 9,000 shareholders from PDO’s concession area. They were established to create career opportunities and develop entrepreneurial skills to provide services to oil and gas companies in Oman in competition with other established local and international firms.
The code, which was developed by OCGS in collaboration with PDO, aims to provide a binding framework for corporate governance relating to the business objectives, organisation and supervision of SLCCs. It clearly pinpoints the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors, aims to develop a strong culture of accountability and transparency in their businesses, and enhance their knowhow in protecting shareholder interests. This will be achieved through a series of defined policies, processes and procedures to realise the main pillars of the code, which are transparency, accountability, fairness and integrity.
This code is the first of its kind in Oman to be developed for closed shareholding companies as such frameworks are normally applicable to public joint stock companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market. The benefits will extend beyond SLCCs to cover all existing and newly established SAOCs in the Sultanate.
Sayyid Hamed Al Busaidy said: “The OCGS is dedicated to building a stronger and more competitive economy through streamlining corporate governance and sustainability into economic cycles and processes, by learning and leadership.
“One of the most vital steps towards building a solid and an adaptable firm is to have embedded governance practices within the company’s culture, which flows smoothly across all management levels, starting from board members to operational and first line employees.
“Good corporate governance will increase the trust of external stakeholders as well as enhance the company’s reputation, which will help the company to expand its operations and financing resources.”
Eng. Al Ajmi, who gave the keynote address, added: “I would like to congratulate SLCCs on this impressive milestone of embracing the Code of Corporate Governance. It is quite remarkable what they have accomplished to date, and the vision is to maximise the long-term value for SLCCs and their shareholders with the implementation of this new code.
“PDO welcomes these initiatives to raise the bar and the level of financial disclosures to match international standards, thereby resulting in higher transparency in the market and winning trust from investors, internally as well as externally.
“I thank all those involved from PDO, OCGS and the SLCCs, who have contributed to this great achievement, which is the product of a significant collaborative effort.”