Volatile credit markets and guarded banks have made securing term loan C (TLC) debt attractive for borrowers who heavily rely on letters of credit to trade but either have low credit ratings or otherwise have difficulty accessing large enough revolving facilities to support the high amount of letters of credit needed.

HEADLINES

Ministerial Decisions

Issuing the Executive Regulations of Sultani Decree No. 31/96 on determining the rules for investing the funds of the Public Authority for Social Insurance and pension funds.

A list of the state pension funds to which these regulations apply is given in Article 2 of this decision.

Issued on 13 June 2017. Effective from the day after the publication date.

Issuing the licensing and working system at the site of the customs territory in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

Ministerial Decisions

Ministry of Manpower

Ministerial Decision No. 187/2017

Continuing the suspension of permits for the temporary recruitment of non-Omani manpower in certain professions. Permits are to be suspended for salesmen/marketing professionals and purchasing representatives, as specified in MD 608/2013 and MD 381/2016. The suspension period is to be extended by a further 6 months with effect from 1 June.

Issued on 29 May 2017.

Ministerial Decision No. 188/2017

Sultani Decrees

Sultani Decree No. 1/2017 Ratifying the General Budget of State for Fiscal Year 2017 Enacted on 1 January 2017. Effective from 1 January 2017

Ministerial Decisions

Diwani Decision No. 39/2016 Naming members of the Municipal Council, Muscat Governorate, for the second term. Issued on 28 December 2016

Ministerial Decision No. 165/2016 Publishing the Final Account of the State for Fiscal Year 2015. Issued on 21 December 2016

Ministerial Decisions

Ministerial Decision No. 261/2016 Amending Ministerial Decision No. 1020/2009 (on rights of audience for Omani and non-Omani lawyers). This decision extends the period within which non-Omani lawyers may have a right of audience before the Appeal Courts and Supreme Court to 31 December 2020. Issued on 22 December 2016. Effective from 1 January 2017

Royal Orders Conferring Honours

Order conferring the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Science, Arts and Literature (First Class) to HE Dr. Hamadoun Touré, former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in recognition of his efforts in the service of the ITU and the achievement of its objectives. Issued on 7 December 2016.

Ministerial Decisions

Ministerial Decisions

Ministerial Decision No. 212/2016 Issuing the Regulations on cultural initiatives Issued on 5 December 2016. Effective from the day after its publication date

Ministerial Decision No. 238/2016 Determining the fees for enrolment in the table of lawyers Issued on 1 December 2016. Effective from the day after its publication date

Introduction

Over the last few years, the European leveraged finance market has seen rapid growth of senior secured high yield notes (“SSN”) and senior secured covenant-lite term loan  B (“TLB”) financings. A common feature of both SSNs and TLBs (together “Senior Secured Debt”) is that their terms typically permit the incurrence of senior unsecured debt by a borrower and its restricted subsidiaries (a “Credit Group”) subject to either satisfaction of a  financial ratio or through various permitted debt baskets.