ALBAWABA – The Oman Investment Authority announced Monday the allocation of $259.9 million (OMR100 million) to support the Muscat Stock Exchange through the “Liquidity Fund” initiative, according to Oman Daily.
The initiative was launched by the authority in cooperation with the National Program for Fiscal Sustainability and Financial Sector Development last week.
It encompasses a portfolio worth $259.9 million, Oman Daily reported.
The initiative will contribute to the daily trading volume of the Muscat Stock Exchange. It will support the bourse, factoring in investor activities, news, and disclosures of listed companies.
The authority will be working closely with listed companies seeking to attract new investments and liquidity to the stock market. It is part of the authority’s effort to achieve its objective under the “Oman Vision 2040”.
Expanding the Muscat bourse through primary or secondary offerings is among the goals of the authority’s split up plan announced last year.
The plan resulted in the listing of the Pearl Real Estate Fund and Abraaj Energy Services, with more public listings coming soon, Oman Daily predicted.
Muscat stock exchange summary
The Muscat Stock Exchange saw an increase of 16 points in the opening sessions of the week, settling at 4,747 point. Whereas trading value increased by 19 percent to $7.28 million (OMR2.8 million).
Overall, 44 securities were traded, of which 17 rose, and five decreased, while 22 bonds maintained their previous levels, as reported by Oman Daily.
Omani Finance Services topped the list of companies on the rise, up 9 percent, followed by Omani Fish and Al Jazeera Services, up 7 and 4 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sembcorp Salalah was the biggest loser, down 3 percent, with Al Anwar Investments and Bank Nizwa following, down 2.3 and 2 percent, Oman Daily reported.
In the meantime, all sectors rose without exception, led by the financial sector, up by 0.77 percent, and the industrial sector, by 0.4 percent. The Sharia market index followed with 0.34 petcent, and the service sector by 0.20 percent.
Oman Telecom accounted for 18 percent of the value of trades, equivalent to $1.3 million (OMR508 thousand).
Bank Muscat came in second, with $1.2 million (OMR471 thousand), at 16 percent, while the National Bank of Oman and Sohar International accounted for 8.8 and 8.2 percent, respectively.
Citizen selloff accounts for 93 percent of the value of Muscat Stock Exchange transactions, amounting to $7.54 million (OMR2.9 million), and they bough OMR2.4 million worth of stocks.
Foreigners bought $647.4 thousand (OMR249 thousand) and sold $405.6 OMR156 thousand worth of stocks. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals bought $192.4 thousand (OMR74 thousand) and sold $20.8 (OMR8 thousand) worth of stocks.
Meanwhile, purchases and sales by non-GCC Arab nationals amounted to $171.6 thousand (OMR66 thousand) and $41.6 thousand (OMR16 thousand), respectively.
