MUSCAT: The MSX30 Index ended the week higher by 0.71 per cent. All sub-indices ended higher. Services & Industrial Index closed higher by 0.06 per cent and 0.97 per cent, respectively.
Financial index closed up by 0.29 per cent while MSX Shariah Index closed lower by 2.13 per cent.
Port of Salalah, a major Arab Gulf regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, partnered with Maersk to launch a new multi-modal transport solution to Al Mazyunah Free Zone as part of their regional strategy. It aims to support the growth of SMEs in Oman and Yemen and attracting new investors.
Designed to facilitate inland services, the new offering extends beyond the port and includes securing customs clearances and bonded trucking services to Salalah and Al-Mazyunah Free Zone hubs under carrier haulage. The new service reduces lead time and allows access to multiple markets.
In its recent announcement, Moody’s changed the outlook on Oman’s credit rating to stable from negative and affirmed its rating at Ba3. According to Moody’s, the change in outlook reflects the significant easing of pressures on government liquidity and external financing.
This came as a result of the ongoing implementation of the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan and a relative rise in oil prices since the middle of 2020, which led to steady decline in the direct government debt burden to around 60 per cent of GDP by 2024.
Moody’s expects that oil prices will average above $60/barrel during the coming years, increasing the likelihood that these pressures will remain under control.
According to Moody’s, the bounce back to Ba3 ratings reflects the agency’s view that despite narrower fiscal and current account deficits, Oman’s structural vulnerability to potential future declines in oil demand and prices will remain high. Moody’s estimates that higher oil prices will account for around half of the expected reduction in the fiscal deficit to less than 2 per cent of GDP in 2021 from 18 per cent of GDP in 2020.
Moody's Investors Service affirmed the long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings of seven Omani banks: Bank Muscat, HSBC Bank Oman, Bank Dhofar, National Bank of Oman, Sohar International Bank, Oman Arab Bank and Bank Nizwa. Moody's has changed the outlook to stable from negative on these ratings of all seven banks.
At the same time, Moody's has affirmed the Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) and Adjusted BCAs of the seven Omani banks. These actions reflect Moody's expectation of continued improvements in the operating environment where the banks operate, as highlighted by the affirmation of the Government of Oman's Ba3 issuer rating and change the outlook to stable from negative.
Oman Capital Market Authority announced the formation of a joint team to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Shaheen with a view to evaluating the overall exposure to the insurance industry from compensation claims. The sector regulator said in a statement that the measure follows meetings held by CMA Executive President Shaikh Abdullah Salim al Salmi with representatives of insurance companies in the wake of the Shaheen disaster. It is also in line with the mandate of the Ministerial Committee tasked with assessing and mitigating the damage inflicted by floodwaters on the properties of citizens located in the governorates directly impacted by the storm.
Oman’s inflation rate further increased in July as consumer prices rose after a surge in global prices of many commodities and the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) in April. Consumer prices in July 2021 remained 0.58 per cent higher compared to June this year, the data showed. A moderate increase in Oman’s inflation rate was expected after the implementation of VAT in April. Price increases in transport group, non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco products largely contributed to the overall inflation growth in July.
Latest NCSI Oman figures indicate that Oman’s population dropped by 0.07 per cent in September 2021, as compared to August 2021.
Omani’s population grew by 0.23 per cent in September compared to August 2021 while the expatriate population declined by 0.58 per cent in September 2021 compared to August 2021. Of the total population, 63.03 per cent were Omanis while 36.97 per cent were expatriates as of September 2021.
(Courtesy: U-Capital)
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