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. Several factors are boosting the industry, with sharia-compliant lines of insurance looking set to enhance the sector’s potential and automobile coverage boosted by record vehicle sales. Further to this, the sultanate’s infrastructure spending is combining with job...
Oman
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Chapter | Capital Markets from The Report: Oman 2014
Despite being a stable and growing bourse for a number of years, authorities see a broader, deeper market as a strategic goal to help create economic opportunity. Sustained dedication to that cause has paid off in recent years, chiefly in the form of an increased flow of initial public offerings. The inclusion of sharia-compliant instruments looks set to take off, meaning diversification of the...
High capital adequacy and profitability define the banking sector in Oman. Aggregate net profits from local banks and foreign branches rose 15.6% in 2012 to $786.1m, up from $683.8m in 2011 with local banks accounting for 96.1% of the total. Consumer spending is driving lending markets as the wealth of the population increases, and banks are looking to meet this demand. New support for SMEs, an...
The sultanate’s economy continues to enjoy the benefits of petroleum wealth, which has provided budget surpluses in most years and served as a backbone for growth. However, 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 an increased number of private sector jobs at the top of the government’s current...
Chapter | Country Profile from The Report: Oman 2014
An ancient maritime power, Oman is open to the world while at the same time preserving a strong sense of tradition and culture. Its numerous land borders and extensive coastline have given leaders a knack for negotiation and pragmatism in foreign policy. The government is making efforts are to respond to the increasing need for employment caused by a rapidly growing population, many which are...
At the base of the Arabian Peninsula, occupying a landmass slightly larger than Italy, Oman is the largest country in the GCC after Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the non-OPEC oil exporter’s economy has been undergoing a steady transformation, reorienting from oil toward a more diverse set of service and industry-based economic activities. So far, progress has been promising. In 2011 oil and gas accounted for 38.8% GDP.