MSM closes lower led by financial sector companies
MS M 3 0 Index ended the week down by 1.64 per cent. All Sectors ended positively except Financial. The Financial Index ended down 2.23 per cent. Industrial Index was higher by 1.56 per cent and the services Index was up by 0.17 per cent. MSM Shariah Index declined by 1.18 per cent.
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO), in collaboration with Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour, has mandated that banks operating in the Sultanate provide a seamless mechanism for transferring salaries and recurring payments (bulk payments) of all government and private agencies/ companies through electronic banking services.
This corporate banking channel is safe and secure. It aims to stop using any methods that do not meet the safety and security standards. The move also aims to avoid expensive methods that consume a lot of time and effort.
Muscat Gases Company signed an agreement with Al Aman Industrial & House Company to acquire the 100 per cent share capital of Al Aman, including all LPG filling stations owned by them in Oman. Objective of the acquisition are to diversify the investments for enhancing the Company’s position and to create better growth opportunities in the future to create value for shareholder’s equity.
The Capital Market Authority has approved the main prospectus of Mudharabah Sukuk of Takaful Oman Insurance for the offer of perpetual Sukuk worth RO 25m.
The
Oman-based
Sharia-compliant insurance provider Takaful Oman has announced in the prospectus the first issuance of RO 6m in a private placement at an issue price of RO 1.020 for each Sukuk unit made up of RO 1 nominal value in addition to 20 bais a for the issue costs. The minimum limit of subscription in the first issuance is 100,000 Sukuk to commence on January 17.
As per the recent data by NCSI, fixed line subscribers were up 1.1 per cent m-o-m to 591,316 in November 2020 compared to 584,894 in October 2020 and 592,196 in December 2019. Mobile subscribers were higher by 2.1 per cent m-o-m to 6.222m in November 2020 compared to 6.096m in October 2020 and 6.383m in December 2019.
Within mobile segment, prepaid as well as post-paid both subscribers increased as well.
Post paid subscribers were higher by 5.9 per cent m-o-m to 0.976m in November 2020 compared to 0.922m in October 2020 and 0.78m in December 2019. While prepaid subscribers were higher by 1.4 per cent m-o-m to 5.245m in November 2020 compared to 5.173m in October 2020 and 5.60m in December 2019.
Active mobile broadband subscribers were higher significantly by 3.6 per cent m-o-m to 5.312m in November 2020 compared to 5.127m in October 2020 while the fixed broadband subscribers were also higher by 2.2 per cent to 0.506m in November 2020 compared to 0.495m in October 2020.
The total Oman population was 4.481m compared to 4.445m at the end of September 2020, growth of 0.8 per cent.
The inflation rate in the Sultanate, measured by movement in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell by 1.42 per cent in December 2020 compared to the same month of 2019, according to the latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) on consumer prices’ index. According to the report, the inflation rate in December fell by 0.18 per cent compared to November 2020.
However, the transport fell by 0.59 per cent; miscellaneous goods and services by 0.13 per cent; food & non-alcoholic beverages by 0.09 per cent; and furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance by 0.01 per cent in December 2020 compared to November 2020.
In contrast, the prices of restaurants and hotels group increased by 0.05 per cent, and the prices of housing groups, water, electricity and other fuels, health, communication, recreation and culture, and education were stable.