Investors in Muscat are waking up to a shock: the Omani bourse has defied regional headwinds for a fifth consecutive session, piling gains many had considered highly improbable weeks ago. While regional bourses struggle with geopolitics angst and a decline in oil prices, Oman‘s benchmark MSM Index has been quietly having a recovery, wiping out recent losses and piquing the interest of regional and foreign traders alike.
The secret ingredient? A sea shift in attention from outside theatrics to regional drivers. “Gulf markets have been moving sideways, between risk-off global sentiment and profit-taking,” says Joseph Dahrieh, Managing Principal, Tickmill. “Oman is, however, laser-beam focused on its own economic program, and that is driving new investor optimism.”
In fact, the most exciting headline of the week was probably the launch of the UAE-Oman initiative to establish the Al Rawdah Special Economic Zone in Al Buraimi. It is not just another industrial park—it’s the Gulf’s first cross-border free zone, designed to join up two economies more and more closely together.
Experts forecast that, when it opens for business, the SEZ will create thousands of jobs, attract billions of dollars of foreign direct investment, and be an example for future cooperation among the GCC. If that is to be a reality, look for blue-chip stocks to be following the trend. Meanwhile, Omani heavyweights in industry and services have been rallying. The industrial sector surged by 5.89% this week—its second consecutive weekly advance—led by standout performances from Al Anwar Ceramic (+4.21%) and Al Maha Ceramics (+13.75%). However, Oman Cables Industry’s explosive rise of 16.50% brought back memories of its meteoric rise in 2023, when it secured a landmark power-grid contract in East Africa.
Elsewhere, OQ Base Industries, which is a state-owned company within the OQ energy behemoth, gained 1.75% and became the value- and volume-leading traded stock, possibly an indication that institutional investors are doubling up on longer-term bets. In the services sector, OQ Gas Networks gained 2.78%, and OQ Exploration and Production went up 3.11%, illustrating how even companies that are close-term energy-related can perform as Oman diversifies away from crude revenues.
Telecom titans also rode with the wind at their back: Ooredoo Oman glowed with a 12.30% lift—keeping everyone mindful of its 2021 bond deal that raised eyebrows due to its groundbreaking green-financing structure—while Oman Telecom rose 0.60%. And natural gas, don’t forget it, rebounded 8.22% following speculation among analysts that fresh LNG export deals were in the works. The financial sector was more subdued, yet still managed a 0.42% advance. Sohar International Bank inched up 0.71%, Al Anwar Investment climbed 2.41%, and Muscat Finance impressed with a 3.92% uptick—echoing its aggressive push into fintech solutions recently.
Oman’s stock market, bolstered by domestic reforms, megaprojects like the Al Rawdah SEZ, and a clear shift to non-oil sectors, seems to be undergoing a transformation in comparison to its neighbors. If trends persist, the sultanate has the potential to be a destination of choice for those looking to play the long game in the Gulf in the not-too-distant future.
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