Both SAOC and SAOG are two different types of 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 an open type of joint-stock company that allow secondary market trading of shares.
The accountability for the company’s debts and other issues will also fall on the stockholders.
Key Takeaways
- SAOC and SAOG are two types of companies in Oman.
- SAOC stands for ‘Sahara Oman Investment Company,’ and SAOG stands for ‘Sahara Oman Development Company.’
- SAOC companies can sell their shares to the public, while a group of individuals or corporations must own SAOG companies.
SAOC vs SAOG
SAOC which is short for Société Anonyme Omanaise Close. It is a closed joint-stock company. SAOG which is short for Société Anonyme Omanaise Générale. It is SAOG is a publicly-traded joint-stock company, meaning that its shares are publicly traded on a stock exchange by anyone.
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 that is an open type one and requires a minimum capital of 2 million, 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
| 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 SAOCs are closed types of joint-stock companies, the shares are subjected to every shareholder’s 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 SAOCs 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 a 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 to sell and buy stocks is given to 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 a SAOC company is 500,000, while that for a SAOG company is 2 million.
- 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
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
I found the differences easy to understand, the article was very well written.
I beg to disagree, the article was quite complex for me.
I’m glad you found it helpful, Julia Harris.
This is a very informative article and explains the differences between SAOC and SAOG very well
I agree with you Ckennedy, very useful, indeed.
I didn’t know the difference between SAOC and SAOG, I’m glad I found this article
Well, I’m still a bit confused, need to read it again.
Very well explained, Tara51, this article has been very instructive.
This article is not clear enough and leaves room for interpretation.
The difference could have been presented more effectively, in my opinion.
I actually found it quite straightforward, Fparker.
This article has been very enlightening, however, it could benefit from a more critical analysis of the implications of these differences.
I disagree. I think the article has given a comprehensive view of the topic.
You’re right, Alexandra47, there’s room for further analysis.
The detailed comparison of SAOC and SAOG has made it much clearer now
I agree, Hunter Andrew, the details provided have been very helpful.
I didn’t find the comparison detailed enough, to be honest.