Muscat: Analysts point to strategic listings and promising fiscal initiatives as key drivers behind the exchange’s recent gains, marking a transformative period for Oman’s financial markets.
Mustafa bin Ahmed Salman, Chairman and CEO of United Securities Company, highlighted the impact of recent public offerings on MSX’s market value, which climbed to OMR 28 billion by last week, up from OMR 23.8 billion at the end of 2023. He attributed this growth to the listing of four major companies across various sectors in 2023 and 2024, which he believes will attract significant foreign investment.
“The state’s general budget for 2025 will enhance the performance of the stock exchange, as they will be based on a private sector participation system, which will provide greater opportunities for some of these companies, given that some of these companies are joint-stock companies that will be partners with the government in implementing the projects.,” said Salman.
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Salman also noted that recent government measures and robust 2024 corporate results have underpinned MSX’s resilience, with over 30 companies posting strong or stable growth. Enhanced investor-friendly policies, including simplified procedures and upgraded brokerage systems, are anticipated to attract further investments.
Louay Bataineh, CEO of Ominvest Capital, echoed these sentiments, citing the Oman Investment Authority’s (OIA) initiatives as pivotal. The OIA’s public offerings over the past two years have increased liquidity and facilitated substantial foreign and Gulf investment deals, contributing to rising trading volumes and advancing MSX’s position toward emerging market status.
Bataineh underscored the need for strategic collaborations to attract Gulf companies to MSX and emphasized the importance of improved disclosures to maintain investor confidence. He stressed that work must also be done to enhance disclosures more, especially since serious work has been done on disclosures and their quality, which has led to increased investor confidence and the promotion of the method of disclosure and its timing before and after board meetings to attract investors and avoid entering into any investments that may affect the performance of those portfolios and rely on disclosures and their study and analysis.
