Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

A leader who strived for the welfare of people

Sultan-qaboos
Sultan-qaboos
minus
plus

R Madhusoodanan -


The leaders we admire the most are those who stand out from the rest for the positive impression that they have made in the minds and hearts of people. They are the ones who taught us how to live, took time to listen what we had to say. They are also those who cared for us by showing kindness and respect.


No doubt, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos was such a leader who possessed all these qualities. That is the reason why he is respected worldwide. He was an extremely rare combination of a visionary and a nation builder in addition to being an extraordinary human being.


He strived for the welfare of his people. He listened to his people and paid attention to what they had to say. He did everything for the nation which is now home to over 4.6 million citizens and expatriates.


With the passing away of His Majesty, not only Oman and the region, the entire world lost a seasoned leader. Yes, we have lost a man who was endowed with some of the finest virtues.


He leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire this great nation in its growth and prosperity.


Under his reign, His Majesty spearheaded the transformation of the country by cautiously channelling revenues for the development of infrastructure.


During my three-year State Bank of India deputation period in the Sultanate, I have been witness to the development and growth that His Majesty had initiated in different areas. Now there is no better place than Oman if you look at the quality of living, education, healthcare services and road network among others.


The late Sultan cemented a strong foundation by bringing in socio-economic reforms through the blessed renaissance. Over the last five decades, the overall economic development in the country has been constantly growing as a result of the progressive governmental plans, policies and timely regulatory interventions.


This has become possible thanks to the positive monetary policies adopted by the government under the wise leadership of the late Sultan.


“You are aware that Oman was once in great need of development in all fields, and you understand that in order to achieve the goal of human and social development in all areas of the Sultanate, it has been necessary to establish a solid infrastructure on which development plans and programmes are based,” the late Sultan said in a speech referring to development of the Sultanate.


The provision of this infrastructure, in all parts of the Sultanate, has provided a major opportunity for construction development in various cities and villages throughout Oman and paved the way for the establishment of many economic, commercial and industrial projects as well as different educational, cultural, health and social institutions.


His Majesty insisted, “The strengthening of the Sultanate’s economic relations with the GCC, other Arab countries and regional groups, and the positive interaction with the international economic system for the interests and benefit of Oman are very important matters. They will enable us to participate in the huge growth of international trade and investment, and make use of the expanding open markets.”


Since he took to the reigns, he wasted no time to start rebuilding the country’s fragile financial structure literally from scratch.


The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) was established in the year 1974 and began functioning with effect from 1st of April 1975. Since then the apex bank continued to pursue policies so that the financial sector fulfilled its role efficiently.


This has augmented the economic development of the Sultanate without posing any threat to the financial stability.


The financial markets functioned smoothly during all these years, albeit sluggish activities in some segments.


With regard to the health of banking sector and quality of assets, the position remained resilient and strong, despite early signs of some vulnerability on the back of slowing realty sector.


The short-term interest rates in the money market remained aligned and some improvement was noticed in the volume of domestic inter-bank call money market partly reflecting easing of regulation pertaining to lending ratio.


Various policy measures were undertaken towards the above. One of the major initiatives was unveiling of the Islamic Banking in the year 2013. The Islamic Banking entities have made spectacular progress and they have been contributing to the financial intermediation in Oman since its inception.


The IMF’s recent paper titled ‘Core Principles for Islamic Finance Regulations and Assessment Methodology’, also recognised the increasing importance of Islamic Banking in Oman. Oman’s Islamic Banking sector is considered as the world’s 15th largest.


The balance sheet size of Islamic banking entities — two full-fledged Islamic banks and six Islamic windows — expanded considerably by 15.3 per cent in 2018, maintaining the momentum, with the major impetus coming from financing.


The financing constituted 81.2 per cent of total assets, while investments accounted for 5.7 per cent during 2018.


Another landmark in the financial sector was the setting up of Capital Market Authority (CMA), Oman on 9th January, 1999. The objective was setting up policies, financial rules and regulations and developing capital markets.


The CMA is the regulator and supervisor of the capital market and insurance sectors as per its strategy to upgrade the sectors, maximise domestic and foreign investor confidence, continued development of the institutions operating in the capital market and insurance sectors, diversifying the products and involve greatest number of participants to achieve utmost added economic value for the Omani economy.


The setting up of Money Exchange Establishments (MEE) is another milestone in the financial sector. Currently 16 Money Exchange Companies with a branch network of 389 are established in Oman. Around 2,700 people are employed in the industry, of which 1600 are Omanis.


The exchange establishments are examined every year by the CBO to ensure compliance with extant regulations, while money-changing firms are selectively examined by rotation.


In 2019, the banks and Money Exchange companies handled a total remittance of over RO 3.7 billion. The major remittance has been to India followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan.


The lion’s part of this remittances are sent by the blue colour workers for their livelihood back home. That way Oman is extending a helping hand to nearly 2 million migrant populations.


The expat community is very much thankful to the government and the regulators for sending their hard earned money hassle free while rules and regulations are fully complied with.


(The writer is General Manager of Global Money Exchange)


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon