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

MSM30 index rises on support from local investors

1364589
1364589
minus
plus

The MSM30 Index closed the week up on support from Omani investors. Selling pressure from GCC investors was absorbed by Omani, Arab and foreign investors. Total value traded on the market increased by about 78 per cent from last week as market activity improved.


The MSM30 Index rose by 1.02 per cent this week to close at 4,040.59. All sub-indices rose this week, with the Industrial Index advancing the most by 3.88 per cent w-o-w, followed by the Services Index which rose by 0.82 per cent w-o-w, and the Financial Index which rose by 0.71 per cent w-o-w. The MSM Shariah Index also closed up by 2.39 per cent w-o-w.


Renaissance Services Holding announced that Renaissance Village Duqm, is set to enter the next phase of expansion following a unanimous decision by the Board of Renaissance Duqm Holding, to increase the capacity from the current 18,655 beds up to 24,895. The forthcoming phase of the planned expansion will see the capacity increase by up to 6,240 beds, with additional central facilities. Four further expansion phases, adding 12,780 beds, shall follow as envisaged sustainable demand increases. The total expansion of all phases is estimated to cost RO 50 million. The proposed increase in the capacity of Renaissance Village Duqm is warranted by the increasing activity levels at Duqm.


Al Omaniya Financial Services received a letter from Central Bank of Oman that they have approved a request of Al Shumookh Holding LLC to increase their stake in Al Omaniya Financial Services up to 15 per cent. Al Shumookh Holding does not have any ownership in the Company.


Galfar has been issued in the arbitration proceedings between Galfar (Claimant) and Oman Waste Water (Defendant) in the respect of the company claim of RO 2.149 million related to the construction contract of A ’Seeb Coastal Strip Vacuum Sewer Network.


Plans for the establishment of a fully autonomous, integrated Medical City in the Sultanate envision the institution of a Health Fund to support and sustain the operation of the ambitious project over the long-term. Speaking at an investor forum held in the city recently, Under-Secretary for Planning Affairs at the Ministry of Health noted that capital costs towards building the Medical City, based on estimates provided by strategic partner Oman Investment Fund (OIF) are projected at RO 480 million. But operating costs are projected at a ballpark RO 160 million annually, which will necessitate sustainable sources of funding to run this financially autonomous project over the long-term. In this regard, he mooted the need for a Health Fund managed independently of the Ministry of Health to serve as the investment arm of the Medical City and other related projects pursued in partnership with the private sector.


Recent data about telecom subscribers revealed that total internet subscribers continued to increase as they were up by 10.2 per cent in Sept’19 to 467k compared to end of 2018 at 423k. Total fixed telephones lines grew by 5.3 per cent to 589k as well as total mobile subscribers which increased by 2.4 per cent to 6.59 million on higher postpaid mobile subscribers and resellers. Active mobile broadband subscribers also went up by 6.8 per cent to 4.39 million subscribers in September 2019 compared to 4.11 million at the end of 2018.


Amongst the GCC markets, Dubai Financial Market was the worst performer during the week, closing down by 1.75 per cent w-o-w while Oman was the best performing market up by 1.02 per cent.


The world’s most profitable company i.e. Saudi Aramco last week announced its final dates for its local floatation. Following were the details of the IPO along with some financial announcements:


n Government of Saudi Arabia plans to sell 2 per cent Aramco in a domestic listing on December 11, but it has put a restriction on future share sale for at least a year, meaning any overseas IPO is unlikely to be held in 2020.


n Final pricing for the IPO is scheduled for December 5.


n Trading is expected to start on December 11, 2019.


n Saudi Aramco posted net profit of $68 billion (SAR 254.86 billion) for the first nine months of 2019.


n Sales hit $244 billion (SAR 914.51 billion) in the same period.


n Capital expenditure stood at $23 billion (SAR 86.2 billion), with free cash flows of $59 billion (SAR 221.1 billion).


n Aramco will pay an ordinary cash dividend of $13.4 billion (SAR 50.25 billion) for Q3 2019.


Saudi Arabia announced its preliminary budget figures for the year 2020. Saudi Arabia expects its budget deficit to widen to SAR 187 billion ($49.86 billion), or 6.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year. Ministry announced that the revenues would go down to SAR 833 billion in 2020 from SAR 978 billion budgeted for 2019. Expenditure, however is announced to go down to SAR 1,020 billion from budgeted SAR 1,106 billion in 2019. The Kingdom’s public debt is expected to be 26 per cent of GDP or SAR 754 billion in 2020 versus SAR 678 billion in 2019.


The total GCC banking sector posted a total net profit of $9.93 billion in Q3’19, up by +14.2 per cent YoY and +8.8 per cent QoQ. Saudi and the UAE banks contributed the same amount, 34.1 per cent, to the combined net profit, followed by Qatar at 17.5 per cent, Kuwait at 8.2 per cent, Bahrain at 3.5 per cent and Oman at 2.6 per cent.


 (Courtesy: U-Capital)


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon