Markets Muscat-listed companies report 11% rise in Q2 profits to $468m By Pramod Kumar September 1, 2022, 6:00 AM Muscat Securities Market Profit of the banking sector - the biggest on the exchange by market cap - improved 11 percent year-on-year to $276.4 million. Total net profit of Muscat Securities Market-listed company rose 11 percent year-on-year to OR180.3 million ($468.4 million) in Q2 2022, investment bank Kamco Invest said in a report. Profit of the banking sector – the biggest on the exchange by market cap – improved 11 percent year-on-year to $276.4 million. The utilities sector followed with net earnings of $57.7 million in Q2 2022. The profit growth for the telecom sector was driven by Omantel, which reported a net profit of $41.8 million in the second quarter. Total net earnings of the energy sector hit $16.7 million, from $5 million in Q2 2021, witnessing a 235 percent year-on-year increase. Last month, Oman’s budget recorded a surplus of OR357 million ($929.7 million) by the end of the first quarter, boosted by a more than 70 percent rise in oil revenue as output and prices surged. Net oil revenue was OR1.565 billion at the end of the first quarter, up by 70.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, the finance ministry said.
Energy Iraq, Halliburton near deal to up oilfield output by 500% Iraq is close to finalising a development deal with Halliburton, a US oil services provider, to expand the capacity of its Nahr Bin Omar oilfield by 500 percent, a news report said. The oil ministry and Halliburton are expected to sign a confidentiality agreement in the coming days, Bassem Abdul Karim, director general of state-owned […] 4 hours ago
Construction Dubai’s Emaar confirms talks to sell stake in Indian unit Emaar Properties, Dubai’s largest developer, has confirmed talks with companies in India, including Adani Group, for a possible stake sale in its Indian subsidiary. The valuation and other terms of a potential transaction are not finalised, the developer said in a Dubai bourse filing on Thursday. The clarification followed a news article by Mint, an […] 4 hours ago
Mining Ma’aden signs $1bn contracts to develop industrial cities Saudi mineral giant Ma’aden has signed three contracts worth a combined $922 million with foreign companies to develop a third phosphate fertiliser project. The majority state-owned Saudi mining company announced the agreements in a note to the Saudi bourse on Thursday, coinciding with the final day of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Ma’aden is […] 11 hours ago
Tax $660m a year ‘sin tax’ target set by Kuwait Kuwait hopes to raise 200 million dinars ($660 million) a year through a “sin tax” on unhealthy products as part of tax reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund, the country’s finance minister said on Wednesday. Noora Al-Fassam told the official Kuwaiti news agency that her ministry was working on a new law for a […] 12 hours ago
