PHOTO
15 August 2015
Muscat: Oman stood first in terms of foreign portfolio investment in stock market among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states last year.
The share of foreign holding in listed companies of Muscat Securities Market (MSM) was 29.5 per cent by the end of 2014, the highest among all GCC states, according to the annual report published by the Capital Market Authority. It was around 27.7 per cent at the end of 2013.
"This reflects the openness of the Omani market, thanks to the regulatory infrastructure, which enhanced foreign investors' confidence in the market and made it appealing to them," the annual report noted.
Foreign institutional investors' interest in Omani bourse was also due to the attractive pricing as the price-earning ratio was one the lowest among GCC countries.
The Omani capital market enjoys low price-earning ratio of 10.5, which is an indication that the prices of the shares of the Omani listed companies were good and attractive to investors.
As many as 120 companies are listed on the Muscat Securities Market.
As far as other GCC states are concerned, foreign investment share in Qatar bourse was merely 8 per cent, 6.3 per cent in Dubai, 4.4 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 12 per cent in Saudi Arabia, which was the latest bourse in the region to open up for foreign investors.
GCC holdings were 16.6 per cent in Omani bourse, while the remaining 13.09 per cent were held by non-GCC investors from different parts of the world.
Market capitalisation
The market capitalisation of MSM grew by three per cent to OMR14.56 billion, compared to OMR14.16 billion in the previous year. "Despite the effects of the fall in the oil prices on the performance of the sector, it still plays a prominent role in growing the national economy of the Sultanate."
The total market capitalisation represents 30 per cent of the gross domestic product, thanks to the growth in the performance of the listed companies in 2014.
The good performance of the market and public listed companies had an effective role in realising good returns and profits for investors. Listed companies were able to distribute OMR 450.18 million worth of dividends in cash, or as bonus shares and/or convertible bonds. Cash dividends were 92 per cent of the total dividends. Dividends were five per cent of the total market value of all public listed companies and 55 per cent of the total annual unaudited profits for 2014.
The level of return for dividends to shareholders in MSM was five per cent in 2014, which is higher than the global rate for the emerging and advanced markets.
However, the Omani capital market is smaller in size among GCC bourses due to the small capital base of the listed companies. This capital base totalled OMR 2.56 billion at the end of 2014, which is small compared to the capital of the listed companies in the Saudi market, estimated at OMR50.15 billion last year. There were only four offerings in the Omani market in 2014, claiming a value of OMR74.76 million while the Saudi market witnessed six offerings during the same period at OMR2,597.09 million.
Muscat: Oman stood first in terms of foreign portfolio investment in stock market among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states last year.
The share of foreign holding in listed companies of Muscat Securities Market (MSM) was 29.5 per cent by the end of 2014, the highest among all GCC states, according to the annual report published by the Capital Market Authority. It was around 27.7 per cent at the end of 2013.
"This reflects the openness of the Omani market, thanks to the regulatory infrastructure, which enhanced foreign investors' confidence in the market and made it appealing to them," the annual report noted.
Foreign institutional investors' interest in Omani bourse was also due to the attractive pricing as the price-earning ratio was one the lowest among GCC countries.
The Omani capital market enjoys low price-earning ratio of 10.5, which is an indication that the prices of the shares of the Omani listed companies were good and attractive to investors.
As many as 120 companies are listed on the Muscat Securities Market.
As far as other GCC states are concerned, foreign investment share in Qatar bourse was merely 8 per cent, 6.3 per cent in Dubai, 4.4 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 12 per cent in Saudi Arabia, which was the latest bourse in the region to open up for foreign investors.
GCC holdings were 16.6 per cent in Omani bourse, while the remaining 13.09 per cent were held by non-GCC investors from different parts of the world.
Market capitalisation
The market capitalisation of MSM grew by three per cent to OMR14.56 billion, compared to OMR14.16 billion in the previous year. "Despite the effects of the fall in the oil prices on the performance of the sector, it still plays a prominent role in growing the national economy of the Sultanate."
The total market capitalisation represents 30 per cent of the gross domestic product, thanks to the growth in the performance of the listed companies in 2014.
The good performance of the market and public listed companies had an effective role in realising good returns and profits for investors. Listed companies were able to distribute OMR 450.18 million worth of dividends in cash, or as bonus shares and/or convertible bonds. Cash dividends were 92 per cent of the total dividends. Dividends were five per cent of the total market value of all public listed companies and 55 per cent of the total annual unaudited profits for 2014.
The level of return for dividends to shareholders in MSM was five per cent in 2014, which is higher than the global rate for the emerging and advanced markets.
However, the Omani capital market is smaller in size among GCC bourses due to the small capital base of the listed companies. This capital base totalled OMR 2.56 billion at the end of 2014, which is small compared to the capital of the listed companies in the Saudi market, estimated at OMR50.15 billion last year. There were only four offerings in the Omani market in 2014, claiming a value of OMR74.76 million while the Saudi market witnessed six offerings during the same period at OMR2,597.09 million.
© Times of Oman 2015
