Both SAOC and SAOG are two different types joint companies in Oman . SAOC is a closed type of joint-stock company and thus doesn’t allow the freedom of secondary market trading, but SAOGs are open type of joint-stock companies that allow secondary market trading of shares. The accountability of the company debts and other issues will fall on the stockholders as well.
SAOC vs SAOG
The main difference between SAOC and SAOG is that SAOC is a closed type of joint-stock company while SAOG is an open type of joint-stock company of Oman. All the listed companies of Oman have either of the tags attached to their company which the Government of Oman partially or wholly owns.
SAOC or Societe Anonyme Omanaise Close is a closed joint-stock company that requires a capital of at least 500,000 which is approximately U.S $ 1.3 million as capital. Here the stocks are not made available for the shareholders to freely buy or sell them as they may be subjected to other shareholders authority and rights.
SAOG or Societe Anonyme Omanaise Generale is a type of joint stock company which is an open type one and requires a capital of a minimum of 2 million, which is the approximately U.S. $ 5.2 million. Stocks in SAOG are available for secondary market trading that is, the shareholders are free to buy or sell their stocks, but the liabilities of the company will fall on them.
Comparison Table Between SAOC and SAOG
| Parameters Of Comparison | SAOC | SAOG |
| Full form | The full form of SAOC is Societe Anonyme Omanaise Close. | The full form of SAOG is Societe Anonyme Omanaise Generale. |
| Type of stock company | SAOC is a closed type of joint-stock company. | SAOG is an open type of joint Stock company. It is also known as a General joint-stock Company. |
| Minimum Capital | A minimum capital of 5000,000 is required for an SAOC company. | A minimum capital of 2 million is required for an SAOG company. |
| Selling and trading freedom | In SAOCs share transfer is subjected to shareholders preemptive rights since it is a closed joint-stock company. | Since SOAGs are joint-stock companies which are open type, therefore it can be sold or traded without any hustle to any third party . |
| Liabilities | Accountability of the company debts does not fall on the stockholders. | The accountability of the company debts will fall on the stockholders. |
| Minimum stock made available | For an SAOC company, there is no such minimum limit to which the stock has to be made available to the stock holders. | The minimum stock which is made available to the shareholders in an SAOG company is 40 percent. |
What is SAOC?
The full form of SAOC is Societe Anonyme Omanaise Close. It is a type of Joint-stock company that is known as a closed Joint-stock company. In Oman, many of the companies are written with the SAOC tag. These are closely held companies, and also, these companies fall in between corporation and partnership. Several individuals together can form a joint-stock company. A minimum of three individuals is required to create one joint-stock company.
All the joint-stock companies have financial reserves and liquidity of stock markets but also come with restrictions which come with every partnership. Not all companies in Oman are given the tag of SAOC. Companies which have a bare minimum of Capital 500, 000 which is approximately U.S. $ 1.3 million as its capital. Since all the SAOC’s are closed type of joint-stock companies, the shares are subjected to every shareholders preemptive rights. The shareholders cannot freely buy or sell the stocks. But due to this, the shareholders are also not responsible for the company’s liabilities. They do not have to take responsibility for any of the liabilities of the company. Most of the SAOC’s are partially or fully owned by the Government of Oman.
What is SAOG?
SAOG can have various complete forms, but in Oman, the full form of SAOG is Societe Anonyme Omanaise General. It is also another joint-stock company in Oman. As discussed earlier that there are two types of Joint-stock companies in Oman, SAOG is a Joint Stock Company of Oman which is of open type. The companies which have a SAOG tag written with them have a capital of 2 Million which is approximately U.S.$ 5.2 million as their capital.
A minimum share of 40 percent is made available to the shareholders in SAOG companies. In Oman, an SAOG company is also called a general joint-stock company. Such Joint-stock companies give freedom to the shareholders to buy and sell or, in other words, trade the stocks according to the will of the shareholders. But with this advantage comes the disadvantage too. The liabilities of the SAOG company debts will be the responsibility of the shareholders.
Main Differences Between SAOC and SAOG
- The full form of SAOC is Societe Anonyme Omanaise Close whereas that of SAOG is Societe Anonyme Omanaise Generale .
- SAOC is a Closed Joint-stock company, whereas SAOG is an open Joint Stock company.
- In SAOC, the shareholders cannot buy or sell the stocks freely, but in SAOG, the freedom of selling and buying stocks is given to the third parties.
- The liabilities of the company debts are not the responsibility of the shareholders in SAOC, but for SAOG, it is.
- The minimum capital for SAOC company is 500,000, while that for a SAOG company is 2 million.
Conclusion
All the listed and famous companies of Oman have either of the tags, SAOC or SAOG, written with their names. In Oman, two types of Joint-stock companies are found. These divisions are based on the capital and the objectives of the business. In Oman, most of the joint-stock companies are either fully or partially owned by the government of Oman. SAOC and SAOG are two types of joint-stock companies where the former is closed type, and the latter is open type. In an open type, the shareholders have complete freedom to buy or sell the stocks, whereas, in a closed type, the shares of the shareholders are subjected to the other shareholders’ preemptive rights.
References
- https://www.hct.edu.om/pdf/business/published-papers/staff/papers/2-Ravikumar.pdf
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00483481111106101/full/html