01 June 2004
MUSCAT — The 15-year-old Muscat Securities Market (MSM) will unveil its new logo today.
A simple analysis of the logo shows that it is neither fancy nor decorative, but very simple.
The image is meant to represent the organsiational simplicity and the identity of the local stock exchange. The characters (shapes) incorporated in the logo look unique, and fundamentally, the scope of the logo includes courage, success, confidence and growth.
In Arabic, the logo can be read as ‘Souk Muscat Lilawrak Al Maliya’. The three downward shapes in the middle stand for the English Letter ‘M’ and the last two shapes (upper and lower) stand for ‘S’ and the three shapes indicate the English letter ‘M’.
The logo, which is designed by Oman Advertising Agency, also indicates quality, value and reliability.
At present, the MSM, which is endeavouring to create a better investment environment, is on a revamping spree. It is in the process of replacing its existing trading system.
It’s the first redesigning of its logo, which has been familiar for the market since last several years. The change also reflects the significant broadening of the market strength that has occurred in the recent past. The concept of stock market is vast gathering momentum in Oman, and now, the Omani stock market is also a favourite investment destination for other AGCC and foreign investors.
Further, from today, the beginning value of the MSM General Index will be changed to 1,000 from 100, i.e. from three digits to four digits (from today, the index will be known as ‘MSM 30’).
For instance, if the beginning value of yesterday’s index was assumed as 1,000, it should have been read as 3,209 points instead of 320.9. However, the change in the beginning value of the index will neither affect the selection criteria of the index model nor the method of value weighting.
The new index is expected to represent the daily marginal changes in the index (in terms of points) more visibly compared with the previous index with 100 as the beginning value. Though percentage change in the index will remain same, change in points will be more visible. It is welcome that the Capital Market Authority and the MSM have pledged to complete the market clean-up process and committed to revamping the system by focusing more on information and disclosure.
As part of its endeavours to strengthen the operational mechanism of the market, the MSM unveiled a three-year (2003-2005) growth plan last year.
The plan, which is aimed at restoring investor confidence, will also help promote inter-Arab investments. The three-year plan includes establishment of strong market ties with other financial markets in the region and developed markets that can strengthen market procedures, information and technical systems. The already implemented electronic clearance and settlement mechanism via a clearing bank was one among those key strategies of the plan.
MUSCAT — The 15-year-old Muscat Securities Market (MSM) will unveil its new logo today.
A simple analysis of the logo shows that it is neither fancy nor decorative, but very simple.
The image is meant to represent the organsiational simplicity and the identity of the local stock exchange. The characters (shapes) incorporated in the logo look unique, and fundamentally, the scope of the logo includes courage, success, confidence and growth.
In Arabic, the logo can be read as ‘Souk Muscat Lilawrak Al Maliya’. The three downward shapes in the middle stand for the English Letter ‘M’ and the last two shapes (upper and lower) stand for ‘S’ and the three shapes indicate the English letter ‘M’.
The logo, which is designed by Oman Advertising Agency, also indicates quality, value and reliability.
At present, the MSM, which is endeavouring to create a better investment environment, is on a revamping spree. It is in the process of replacing its existing trading system.
It’s the first redesigning of its logo, which has been familiar for the market since last several years. The change also reflects the significant broadening of the market strength that has occurred in the recent past. The concept of stock market is vast gathering momentum in Oman, and now, the Omani stock market is also a favourite investment destination for other AGCC and foreign investors.
Further, from today, the beginning value of the MSM General Index will be changed to 1,000 from 100, i.e. from three digits to four digits (from today, the index will be known as ‘MSM 30’).
For instance, if the beginning value of yesterday’s index was assumed as 1,000, it should have been read as 3,209 points instead of 320.9. However, the change in the beginning value of the index will neither affect the selection criteria of the index model nor the method of value weighting.
The new index is expected to represent the daily marginal changes in the index (in terms of points) more visibly compared with the previous index with 100 as the beginning value. Though percentage change in the index will remain same, change in points will be more visible. It is welcome that the Capital Market Authority and the MSM have pledged to complete the market clean-up process and committed to revamping the system by focusing more on information and disclosure.
As part of its endeavours to strengthen the operational mechanism of the market, the MSM unveiled a three-year (2003-2005) growth plan last year.
The plan, which is aimed at restoring investor confidence, will also help promote inter-Arab investments. The three-year plan includes establishment of strong market ties with other financial markets in the region and developed markets that can strengthen market procedures, information and technical systems. The already implemented electronic clearance and settlement mechanism via a clearing bank was one among those key strategies of the plan.
Palazhi Ashok Kumar
© Times of Oman 2004
