Saturday 18 / January / 2025
Muscat: Oman’s general budget for 2025, which estimates spending of OMR11.8 billion, has had a positive impact and has further boosted investors’ confidence on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), according to a number of analysts and industry watchers.
They pointed to number listings in the past two years on the MSX as a positive step towards that has bolstered the confidence of the investors.
Mustafa bin Ahmed Salman, Chairman and CEO of United Securities Company, said: “The Muscat Stock Exchange witnessed the initial public offerings (IPOs) of four major companies in different sectors in 2023 and 2024. This has had a positive impact on the stock exchange, especially in the market value of the bourse which rose by the end of the current week to OMR28 billion compared to OMR23.8 billion by the end of 2023.”
He further pointed out that these gains will attract new foreign investments to the stock exchange.
In a statement to the Oman News Agency (ONA) he said that robust results declared by the listed companies in 2024 had a major role in improving the performance of the stock exchange.
“More than 30 companies reported solid growth and some of them registered stable results, indicating that the new government measures will further contribute to the recovery of companies.”
He added that the initiatives announced in the state's general budget for 2025 will enhance the performance of the stock exchange, as they will be based on private sector participation. “This will provide greater opportunities for some of the private companies, given that some of these companies are joint-stock companies that will be partners with the government in implementing the projects.”
Salman pointed out that the 2025 budget has enhanced investor-friendly policies, including simplified procedures and upgraded brokerage systems that are anticipated to attract further investments and will greatly help the MSX to be included in the Emerging Markets Index.
Regarding the performance of the MSX in 2025, Salman said that the presence of large companies listed on the stock exchange in terms of market value would enable them to be listed in the emerging markets index.
“Also, there is a trend to list another company that would enable the stock exchange to list in the emerging markets exchange and help contribute to bringing billions of dollars to the Muscat Stock Exchange.”
Louay Bataineh, CEO of Ominvest Capital, said: “The initiatives included in the Oman’s 2025 budget will have a positive impact on the economy and the Muscat Stock Exchange in terms of improving the performance of the stock exchange, investor confidence, and their willingness to buy shares when the public offering is made by some companies.”
In a statement to the Oman News Agency he said that the Oman Investment Authority’s offering of part of the companies owned by it through IPO over the past two years has led to an increase in liquidity and facilitated several investment deals. “This has also led to an increase in trading volumes with the approach of raising the Muscat Stock Exchange to an emerging market.”
Louay Bataineh pointed out that the Muscat Stock Exchange must work with its strategic partners to further attract Gulf companies and list them on the stock exchange, especially companies that have operations in the Sultanate of Oman.
He stressed that work must also be done to enhance disclosures, 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.
