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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Services sector weighs down MSM Index

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MSM30 ended the week lower by 0.01 per cent. Services Index was down 0.98 per cent while Industrial was down by 0.26 per cent, and the Financial Index was down 0.12 per cent. The MSM Shariah Index was also down 0.36 per cent.


Ubhar Capital SAOC (U Capital) has announced the completion of the merger between U Capital and GBCM. The merged entity has started to operate as Ubhar Capital SAOC. The merger brings together two leading investment services firms in Oman with combined assets under management and custody of $1.2bn and U Capital will continue to be the leading broker in the Muscat Securities Market.


The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued a financial circular on regulating financing instruments and means, whereby MoF instructed all government units and companies to provide Debt Management Office (DMO) at MoF with their proposed annual financing plans by no later than January 31 of every year.


MoF emphasised the importance of coordination with DMO before initiating any procedure to select local or foreign lenders for any form of borrowing, and also prior to liaising with the issue managers or financial advisers in relation to the bonds or Sukuk proposed to be issued.


MoF stated that it is essential to obtain an approval from DMO for any proposed loan contracts before and after negotiating with the lenders. DMO approval must also be obtained for the details and Terms and Conditions of the bonds or Sukuk prior to the issuance.


Oman’s biggest petrochemicals project to date — is set to dramatically ramp up the global market portfolio of OQ, the Sultanate’s integrated energy company, when the $6.7 billion complex comes on stream at Sohar Port next month.


According to a high-level executive of wholly government-owned OQ, a stream of new petrochemical and polymer products from Liwa Plastics will bolster OQ’s already sizable portfolio and market footprint.


At full capacity, Liwa Plastics will boost OQ’s production of polyethylene and polypropylene to 1.4m tonnes. The product portfolio will include linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP) — part of a product portfolio that will enable OQ to meet the growing global demand for polymers.


As of 9M20, 22 companies have reported accumulated losses, of which 10 companies accumulated losses are over and above 50 per cent of the share capital of the company.


In terms of accumulated losses in absolute Rial terms, Al Hassan Engineering (RO -77.8m) leads followed by Galfar Engineering (RO -47.2m) and Dhofar Tourism (RO -10.9m).


As of October 2020, foreigners have continued to remain as the net sellers in Oman amounting to $87m. In the month of October, foreigners were net sellers of $5.5m.


In October, Top-5 gainers were: Gulf Invest Services Holding, Al Anwar Holding, Al Jazeera Services, National Life and General Ins and National Finance. While Top-5 losers were: National Gas, Renaissance Services, Al Hassan Engg, Oman United Insurance and Al Omaniya Financial Services.


Inflation in Oman fell by 1.51 per cent in October 2020 compared to the same month in 2019, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) on consumer price index. According to the report, the inflation rate in October declined by 0.11 per cent compared to September 2020.


The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages witnessed a rise by 0.32 per cent, health by 0.02 per cent, education by 0.08 per cent, recreation and culture by 0.51 per cent.


However, the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels dropped by 0.42 per cent, communication by 0.03 per cent, transport by 7.02 per cent, and furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance by 0.29 per cent in October 2020 compared to the same month of 2019.


[Courtesy: U-Capital]


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