Oman Center for Corporate Governance and Sustainability

Organizes Training Programme for Board of OMNIVEST on the Principles of Good Corporate Governance

Oman Center for Corporate Governance organized a training programme on developing and activating the role of board members and directors of OMNIVEST for four days with the participation of the Chairman, board members and executive directors of the Company.

Abdulaziz Al Balushi, Executive Director of OMIVEST commented on the importance of this programme, ‘we enrolled in the programme as we believe in the importance of developing administrative work and of coping with developments in the field of administration sciences of which corporate governance comes in the lead. Hence, the Board participated in this programme to identify OMIVEST’s compliance with principles and standards of good governance, which would contribute in determining its strengths and promote any weaknesses’. He added; ‘The programme held by the Center comes as a confirmation to the concern paid by the Sultanate to corporate governance issue in order to achieve competitiveness which promotes investment and develops business environment in the Sultanate’.

The participants were introduced to the historical background of establishing governance concept, and how it got to be essential to facilitate companies’ administrative and financial affairs. International experiences in activating the governance principles, and governance influence on enhancing companies’ performance level and ability to face challenges and market fluctuations were presented.

The programme also identified the main four basics of corporate governance, which are; accounts, transparency, fairness and creditability, and the six emerging principles of governance which are; general framework, shareholders’ rights, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency and board’s responsibilities.  It also discussed the reflection of governance practices on operational performance, production efficiency, foreign capital trust. It also talked about the role of board members and its committees, and the importance of separating executive management from the board, and the structural nature of the board. It also presented the method for forming an effective board that contributes in promoting performance and increasing efficiency. The importance of having an independent member was also presented, as they provide further guarantee to the market for maintaining the interest of stakeholders. The nature of board committees were also presented in the training programme and their way of function. The role of the board secretariat and method of electing so was also presented in the programme.