Oman

With a stable banking sector, the Sultanate of Oman has good access to capital and a high-quality asset base. Banks’ loan portfolios in particular are considered at minimal risk of default in a global context. In addition to the banks, the country has a vibrant group of non-bank lenders and an Islamic banking segment that is just getting started...

The sultanate’s economy continues to enjoy the benefits of its petroleum wealth, which has provided budget surpluses in most years and served as a backbone for growth. Planning is well under way for an era in which oil will not be the main economic driver, with the twin goals of diversification and creating more private sector jobs at the top of...

Oman’s Islamic finance segment looks well placed for strong expansion in 2014, after the government launched a sharia-compliant stock index in July 2013. Already home to more than 30 listed companies, and expected to witness promising investment in the coming years, the Muscat Securities Market Sharia Index (MSMSI) will allow the sultanate to...

With a steady stream of new entrants in the past decade and growth from a small base, Oman’s insurance market is a competitive one. A new set of entrants is set to arrive in 2014 following the approval of a legal framework for firms offering takaful (Islamic insurance), which will bring sharia-compliant alternatives to conventional...

At a conference in Riyadh in May 2012, Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the secretary-general of the GCC, addressed the numerous changes that have taken place in the region in recent years. “The new political, security and military challenges – as well as insecurity in the Arab region and the changes in the regional and global forces of power...

With the introduction of Islamic financial products, regarded as allowing the sultanate to retain valuable investment dollars, the emergence of new takaful (Islamic insurance) firms raises the question of how new insurance providers can thrive in a small market.