Islamic Finance Forum discusses the reality of Islamic financial services  10 years after their  launch

Al Maamari:

• 2.9 billion Omani Riyals the share of the Omani Sharia-compliant capital market, with a  12% share off the total financing in the capital market

• Al Mamari: Takaful insurance accounts for 14% of the total insurance portfolio with premiums exceeding RO 72 Million.

Ahmed  Ali Al Mamari, Executive Vice President of the Capital Market Authority, confirmed that the Sharia compliant capital market has been able to achieve rapid growth since its inception in 2013, acquiring a 12%  share of  the total value of the capital market in the Sultanate of Oman, with a volume  of RO  2.9 billion  (US$7.54 billion) until the end of 2022. He added  in the opening  speech that such volume is distributed among the Islamic equity market, Sukuk, and Sharia compliant investment funds.

This came in the opening speech delivered by Al Mamari at the Oman Forum and  Dialogue organized by  Redmoney  Group in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority (IFN Oman Forum & Dialogue 2023) in Muscat, which discusses the reality of sharia complaint financial services products , which include the banking sector, the capital market and  Takaful market.

 Al Maamari  pointed out to the reality of Takaful  products,  which  witnessed continuous growth since licensing the first Takaful company in the Sultanate of Oman 10 years ago. Takaful was able, by the end of 2022, to acquire  14% stake, with the value of premiums reaching RO 72.26 million (US$198 million).

Al Maamari emphasized that the Capital Market Authority supports all investment initiatives that provide sufficient attractiveness to  the  local and foreign capital in order to achieve its vision based on the financial services market in the Sultanate of Oman being an effective tool for wealth creation and providing financial stability and a safe environment, and is fully aware that diversifying options, financing alternatives and types Insurance products contribute to meeting the national priorities of the  Oman Vision 2040 related to  financial sustainability and economic diversification.

Al Maamari added  that the CMA is  working on developing an  appropriate legislative infrastructure to regulate Islamic finance products through the capital market and Takaful  services and preparing all elements and systems, hence,  a  Sharia index was launched on the Muscat Stock Exchange for sharia compliant listed companies , Islamic investment funds were also established and sovereign and corporate Islamic Sukuk were issued  with various Islamic structures. Two Takaful companies were also licensed in the local Takaful market. Furthermore,

 the CMA  developed the crowdfunding and Fintech sector in the Sultanate of Oman to enhance financial inclusion  including for the small and medium enterprises sector, and established a global Islamic crowdfunding platform in the Sultanate of Oman, noting that all these initiatives were supported by  the legislation issued by the CMA , which includes the Securities Law, Sukuk Regulations,  real estate investment funds regulations (REIFs) (conventional and Islamic), Crowdfunding Regulations  and Takaful Regulations.

He added  that the CMA  is in the final stage of issuing the bonds and Sukuk regulations as well as reviewing the code of corporate governance from the perspective of  tripartite governance  linked to environmental, social, and governance sustainability. It is also working on preparing a regulatory  framework for venture capital funds and private equity funds, Islamic and traditional.

The Forum included two discussion sessions in which experts and specialists representing local and regional Islamic finance institutions participated. The first paper focused on the reality of Islamic financial services in the Sultanate of Oman 10 years after their launch, the role of this type of financing in supporting economic development programs, and the key indicators of success in the main sectors such as profitable deposit accounts, potential treasury Sukuk

and the introduction of essential liquidity management instruments in the nominee financial market. The structure of the banking sector and the changes therein during the past period and the Sharia governance framework for its operations were also discussed  beside  examining the new regulation  of Sukuks and bonds expected to be issued during the coming period.

The second session reviewed the opportunities and challenges facing sharia compliant direct investments  by examining the experiences of investment funds and real estate investment funds in the Sultanate of Oman in addition to other related topics.