A flurry of initial public offerings (IPOs) planned for December and early 2013 highlight how firms in Indonesia are trying to harness bullish domestic and global confidence to fund plans for expansion.
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Economic update | Oman: Regulating Islamic finance
11 Jan 2013
The recently released Islamic Banking Regulatory Framework (IBRF), a 500-page document setting out the regulations that will govern Oman’s financial sector, is set to open the door for both conventional and Islamic banks to market sharia-compliant products. In a statement accompanying the regulations, the Central Bank of Oman described the IBRF as “a detailed and comprehensive document covering all aspects of Islamic banking”.
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.
With participants showing strong growth in a highly competitive market, the sultanate’s insurance sector is experiencing a period of both vertical and horizontal expansion. Stronger regulatory requirements on solvency and governance are also on the way, while a major new element, Islamic insurance – takaful – is also being added to the mix. While the market penetration rate remains low compared...
Chapter | Capital Markets from The Report: Oman 2013
While international investor confidence has been affected by the global financial crisis, the sultanate has remained relatively stable, with sustained high oil prices resulting in increasing government spending and higher disposable incomes. Moreover, these are exciting times for Oman’s capital markets, as a number of recent initiatives aimed at broadening activity are coming into play. The...
Chapter | Banking & Islamic Finance from The Report: Oman 2013
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,...