FSA orders Omantel to restate 2024 audited accounts

MUSCAT: Oman’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has ordered Omantel to re-prepare and republish its audited financial statements for the year ended December 2024, citing non-compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In Administrative Decision No. 25/2025, issued under Article 58(c) of the Securities Law (Royal Decree 46/2022), the regulator said Omantel breached Article 282(b) of the Executive Regulations of the Capital Market Law, which requires strict adherence to IFRS. The observations centre on two standards: IAS 29 (reporting in hyperinflationary economies) and IAS 21 (effects of changes in foreign-exchange rates).

Omantel must file revised audited statements within two months of the decision. A grievance lodged by the company was rejected on 28 September 2025 by the Grievances Committee, making the directive binding.

In a disclosure on the Muscat Stock Exchange, Omantel said the adjustments aim to remove two qualifications in its 2024 consolidated accounts. The first relates to IAS 21, where the US dollar was used instead of the Iraqi dinar for transactions tied to Zain Group subsidiaries operating in Iraq. The second concerns IAS 29 for Zain Group subsidiaries in Sudan, classified as a hyperinflationary economy.

Omantel added that the qualifications stemmed from a difference of view held by its former group auditor; Zain Group’s auditors did not qualify Zain’s consolidated statements. The company said these qualifications were already removed in its H1 2025 financial review.

The FSA said the action is intended to reinforce compliance, transparency, and disclosure standards across listed companies, safeguarding investors and supporting the integrity of Oman’s capital market.