(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Leading Oman law firm Al Busaidy Mansoor Jamal & Co (AMJ) partnered the Islamic Finance News (IFN) in staging a successful second Oman Forum at the Grand Millennium Muscat.
The day-long event gathered over 150 industry players, legal experts and stakeholders from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia in an audience with the regulators to discuss trends in Oman's fast-growing Islamic finance industry.
In the opening keynote address H E Abdullah Salim al Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that two private sector sukuk programmes totalling RO300mn (US$780mn) have received initial approval from the CMA. These sukuk programmes are the 'first of a kind' under Oman's new sukuk regulation and come as the government is contemplating a second international sovereign issuance. According to the CMA chief, these issuances will contribute to building benchmark yield curves and hopefully spur further issuances'.
He also confirmed that the CMA is in the process of reviewing stakeholder feedback on a draft regulatory framework for real estate investment trust funds (REITs) AMJ successfully hosts second IFN Forum Omanreleased for industry consultation in December 2016. The REITs framework, which will govern both Sharia'a-compliant and conventional funds, is one of the key initiatives promoted by the Tanfeedh programme to drive economic diversification and attract foreign investment into Oman.
In a second keynote, H E Hamoud Sangour al Zadjali, executive president of theCentral Bank of Oman (CBO) expressed satisfaction with the pace of development in the Islamic finance segment. In the short span of four years, the combined assets of Oman's Islamic banks and windows had reached RO3bn, representing a 10 per cent market share by the end of December 2016. He stressed on the need for innovation, introduction of user-friendly products and more diverse liquidity management tools to address the challenges facing the industry. The CBO chief encouraged industry players to keep abreast of various regulatory initiatives in preparation by the High Sharia'a Supervisory Board.
Expert panel discussions covered the role of Islamic finance in Oman's Vision 2020 and the Tanfeedh economic diversification plan, development of the legal and regulatory framework, and the creation of a sustainable and efficient Islamic finance capital market. AMJ's managing partner, Mansoor Malik, shared his insights with two panels on Islamic finance regulatory frameworks and key transactions including Oman's sovereign sukuk issuances. He stressed on the need for the industry and regulators to embrace alternative investment products and develop related regulatory frameworks to ensure the positive growth trajectory of the Sharia'a compliant segment and the creation of a vibrant and sustainable market.
AMJ partner Marcus Pery participatedinaclosed-door discussion on developing Oman's Islamic financial markets, between industry experts and CMA and CBO representatives.
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