In response to the exceptional circumstances in the Sultanate and to provide adequate flexibility, the Capital Market Authority issued a circular to the issuers of listed securities and auditors extending the period for disclosure of the quarterly financial statements for the quarter ending on 31 March to end of June.

The circular extended disclosure of the quarterly financial statements  and the initial results up to end of June 2020. The circular emphasized that the board of directors may approve such financial statements in a meeting through video conferencing or in a resolution by circulation.

The move comes taking into consideration the  situations of the public joint stock companies and investment funds who are unable, in the current exceptional circumstances, to comply with the disclosure of the financial statements and the initial results for the quarter that ended on 31 March 2020 during the statutory period

It is noteworthy that the Executive Regulation of the Capital Market Law obliges the public joint stock companies to disclose the quarterly unaudited financial statements  and the annual audited  financial statements during  specific period beside disclosure of material information on the MSM website to furnish fairness and transparency in obtaining  such information for all investors to enable them to valuate the security to take sound and  informed  investment decision.

The CMA has previously taken  a number of precautionary measures regarding the public  joint stock companies in line with the instructions of the Supreme Committee tasked with dealing  with the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) to curb the outbreak including suspension  of general meetings of public joint stock companies and investment funds and approving the dividends proposed in the agenda of the general meetings after the approval of other regulators.