Company Insights Ubhar Capital Banking & Finance Ubhar Capital Overview Ubhar Capital – or U-Capital – is one of the largest asset managers and stockbrokers in Oman. It specialises in financial services, including asset management, broking, corporate finance, wealth management, custody and research. U-Capital was established in 2017 through the acquisition of the Investment Management Group of Oman Arab Bank. Since then it has raised approximately $11 billion across various transactions. U-Capital says its team has managed more than 15 IPOs and advised on more than 55 transactions across sectors including banking, mining, construction, utilities and food. Last year U-Capital became the first Omani private company to be granted an investment banking licence by Oman’s Financial Services Authority. Ubhar Capital News Analysis Banking & Finance Omani banking sector ripe for further mergers Oman’s banking sector has more than doubled in size since 2013 but may lack the scale to meet state financing needs. Lenders are already stretched in terms of their loan-to-deposit ratios, and further sector consolidation is probably needed along with borrowing on international bond markets. Bank Muscat is Oman’s largest with assets of OMR13.7 billion […] October 7, 2024 Analysis Banking & Finance Omani banks look to state spending to boost credit growth Lower interest rates should increase borrowing demand in Oman although the sultanate’s banks are waiting for a meaningful expansion in government infrastructure spending for credit growth to accelerate. Bank Muscat is Oman’s largest bank, reporting a 2023 net annual profit that was greater than those of the next four commercial banks combined, S&P Global data […] October 4, 2024 Analysis Markets Oil IPO is latest step towards Oman’s emerging market status An Omani state oil company’s $2 billion initial public offering will boost the sultanate’s chances of eventually being reclassified as an emerging market by the world’s leading stock index providers. If achieved, Oman’s blue-chips will receive sizeable inflows from passive funds that track the MSCI and FTSE emerging market benchmarks, increasing bourse turnover and likely […] September 20, 2024 Telecoms Myanmar venture proves a big loss for Qatar’s Ooredoo Qatar’s Ooredoo sold its Myanmar mobile network for even less than it originally agreed, new figures reveal, as one expert suggested its multi-billion-dollar losses may also be higher than previously estimated. The new figures in the telecom operator’s latest financial statement shed further light on a market that was once touted as the last major […] September 1, 2024 Telecoms UAE telco e& buys Turkish tech company for $60m A wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – has acquired GlassHouse, a Turkey-based cloud solutions provider, for $60 million. The UAE telco’s subsidiary, e& enterprise, had signed an agreement with Mediterra Capital and individual shareholders in June. GlassHouse is an Istanbul-headquartered IT infrastructure services provider which serves 2,000 enterprises […] August 30, 2024 Analysis Telecoms Saudi Telecom’s share surge raises prospect of PIF stake sale Saudi Telecom Co’s surprise dividend increase announcement has propelled its stock to a 13-month high and increased the likelihood that majority shareholder the Public Investment Fund may sell some of its stake in the former telecom monopoly. On Sunday, STC said it would pay SAR0.55 ($0.15) per share each quarter for three years starting from […] August 28, 2024 Analysis Telecoms Worst is over for Etisalat shares but don’t expect a rebound Shares in UAE blue-chip e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – have fallen by more than half from a 2022 peak as investors fret over difficulties related to some of the telecom operator’s foreign investments. Yet analysts believe these issues are now priced in and so the worst should be over for the stock. Etisalat […] August 19, 2024 Analysis Telecoms Telcos turning to tech to propel growth Fear of market irrelevance has spurred former Gulf telecom operators such as e& to bet on providing more sophisticated, tech-based services to consumers and businesses. This strategy differs from earlier efforts to create a vast geographic footprint for their operations, which, in many cases, led Gulf telcos to nurse billion-dollar losses. E&, which is listed […] August 15, 2024 Real Estate Omani fund targets commercial assets after IPO Jabal Real Estate Investment Fund has targeted a swathe of commercial assets in Oman after officially listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The company, which has a capital portfolio of OR17 million ($45 million), is considering an office building and a warehousing complex in the sultanate. No further details were given, although both properties boast […] July 11, 2024 Construction Saudi cement prices under pressure as competition mounts Strong competition among Saudi Arabia’s cement companies is likely to continue and will exert pressure on prices in the short to medium term, according to a report from investment advisory company Ubhar Capital. There is ongoing optimism regarding the pipeline of mega and giga projects, as well as anticipated investments related to Expo 2030. However, […] April 10, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 Next
Analysis Banking & Finance Omani banking sector ripe for further mergers Oman’s banking sector has more than doubled in size since 2013 but may lack the scale to meet state financing needs. Lenders are already stretched in terms of their loan-to-deposit ratios, and further sector consolidation is probably needed along with borrowing on international bond markets. Bank Muscat is Oman’s largest with assets of OMR13.7 billion […] October 7, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Omani banks look to state spending to boost credit growth Lower interest rates should increase borrowing demand in Oman although the sultanate’s banks are waiting for a meaningful expansion in government infrastructure spending for credit growth to accelerate. Bank Muscat is Oman’s largest bank, reporting a 2023 net annual profit that was greater than those of the next four commercial banks combined, S&P Global data […] October 4, 2024
Analysis Markets Oil IPO is latest step towards Oman’s emerging market status An Omani state oil company’s $2 billion initial public offering will boost the sultanate’s chances of eventually being reclassified as an emerging market by the world’s leading stock index providers. If achieved, Oman’s blue-chips will receive sizeable inflows from passive funds that track the MSCI and FTSE emerging market benchmarks, increasing bourse turnover and likely […] September 20, 2024
Telecoms Myanmar venture proves a big loss for Qatar’s Ooredoo Qatar’s Ooredoo sold its Myanmar mobile network for even less than it originally agreed, new figures reveal, as one expert suggested its multi-billion-dollar losses may also be higher than previously estimated. The new figures in the telecom operator’s latest financial statement shed further light on a market that was once touted as the last major […] September 1, 2024
Telecoms UAE telco e& buys Turkish tech company for $60m A wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – has acquired GlassHouse, a Turkey-based cloud solutions provider, for $60 million. The UAE telco’s subsidiary, e& enterprise, had signed an agreement with Mediterra Capital and individual shareholders in June. GlassHouse is an Istanbul-headquartered IT infrastructure services provider which serves 2,000 enterprises […] August 30, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Saudi Telecom’s share surge raises prospect of PIF stake sale Saudi Telecom Co’s surprise dividend increase announcement has propelled its stock to a 13-month high and increased the likelihood that majority shareholder the Public Investment Fund may sell some of its stake in the former telecom monopoly. On Sunday, STC said it would pay SAR0.55 ($0.15) per share each quarter for three years starting from […] August 28, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Worst is over for Etisalat shares but don’t expect a rebound Shares in UAE blue-chip e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – have fallen by more than half from a 2022 peak as investors fret over difficulties related to some of the telecom operator’s foreign investments. Yet analysts believe these issues are now priced in and so the worst should be over for the stock. Etisalat […] August 19, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Telcos turning to tech to propel growth Fear of market irrelevance has spurred former Gulf telecom operators such as e& to bet on providing more sophisticated, tech-based services to consumers and businesses. This strategy differs from earlier efforts to create a vast geographic footprint for their operations, which, in many cases, led Gulf telcos to nurse billion-dollar losses. E&, which is listed […] August 15, 2024
Real Estate Omani fund targets commercial assets after IPO Jabal Real Estate Investment Fund has targeted a swathe of commercial assets in Oman after officially listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The company, which has a capital portfolio of OR17 million ($45 million), is considering an office building and a warehousing complex in the sultanate. No further details were given, although both properties boast […] July 11, 2024
Construction Saudi cement prices under pressure as competition mounts Strong competition among Saudi Arabia’s cement companies is likely to continue and will exert pressure on prices in the short to medium term, according to a report from investment advisory company Ubhar Capital. There is ongoing optimism regarding the pipeline of mega and giga projects, as well as anticipated investments related to Expo 2030. However, […] April 10, 2024