Oman

Equity listings activity in the sultanate has been muted in recent years. After having steadily risen in number from two in 2012 to four in 2014, only one public offering took place in 2015 – though the listing, of Phoenix Power Company, was the largest in recent years, raising OR563.1m ($1.5bn), more than double the combined value of all...

There are approximately $2bn worth of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the planning or implementation phase in Oman, according to research by Middle East Economic Digest published in October 2017. The sultanate pioneered the regional development and use of such projects in the utilities sector in particular, and PPPs now account for the...

For the first time since 1997, the government of Oman issued $2.5bn foreign bonds in June 2016 with maturities of five years and 10 years. Later, in September 2016, the government expanded the size of the issue to $4bn. During 2016 Oman joined several other governments and companies in tapping the global bond market to fund budget shortfalls...

The telecoms market experienced a continued rise in revenue and investments in 2016, with growth rates of approximately 5.6% and 30.9%, respectively.

A May 2017 survey published by Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information found that 56% of Oman’s residents have accounts or deposits with banks operating in the sultanate, and this figure grows to 68% when only Omani citizens are counted. Omanis benefit from good access to financial infrastructure. The number of bank branches...

Oman’s banking sector appears to have ridden out the recent oil price and economic downturn largely unscathed. While concerns over liquidity arose in the wake of the oil price slump given the government’s status as an important depositor, the situation improved in 2017 as the Omani state borrowed from abroad to avoid withdrawing funds or...