Backed up by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the sultanate’s reputation for stability and sound financial management, Oman’s banking sector has been remarkably resilient in recent years. The sector has registered good growth in the face of market volatility linked to the Arab Spring and the eurozone crisis. Going forward, banks are now entering a period of substantial change. In 2013,...
Oman
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Chapter | Banking & Islamic Finance from The Report: Oman 2013
While hydrocarbons accounted for 38.8% of the sultanate’s GDP in 2011, non-oil activities have grown by 55% from 2007 to 2011, from OR9.2bn ($24bn) to OR14.3bn ($37.7bn). Of these, the services sector has consistently been the largest category recently, hovering between a 30% and 40% share of overall GDP, with industry making up some 15-20%. However, despite the growth of non-oil activity, 2012...
Economic update | Oman: Year in Review 2012
3 Jan 2013
The Omani economy saw another good year in 2012, with high levels of growth on the back of increased hydrocarbons production and solid results from the private sector. However, unemployment remains a concern for the authorities.
While all Omanis are entitled to free health services, there has been an increasing move towards private health care, with both foreign and local care providers entering the market. The most recent entrant to the sector is the Saudi-based Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Group, which announced on November 18 it would be investing $259m to establish 13 hospitals and medical centres across the Sultanate over the next few years.
With mobile penetration already well above 100%, the increasing popularity of high-speed mobile and fixed broadband is proving to be the key to growth in the Omani telecoms sector. Increasing operating costs and declining text usage are cutting into profits, however.
Economic update | Oman: IMF pushes SME finance
16 Nov 2012
Having maintained 47th place on the World Bank’s latest global survey regarding the ease of doing business, Oman has benefitted from the strong capitalisation of local banks and reforms making it easier to register property and connect to the energy supply. However, the report identifies that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from improved access to credit and further reforms to liberalise the business environment.