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Oman Raysut Cement Says 2015 Costs To Rise 3% On Gas Price Hike

Raysut will try offset the impact of higher gas prices by making other cost reductions, improving efficiency and restructuring its own prices, according to a bourse filing.

Stock News: Saudi Down To 11-Month Low, Dubai Falls To Five-Month Low After Oil Price Plunge

Brent crude prices have fallen about 10 per cent since regional equity markets last traded on Thursday.

Oman Cement Says Gas Costs In 2015 To Rise By $5.45m

The government plans to introduce hikes to gas prices in 2015.

HSBC Oman Says In Talks With Meezan Bank To Sell Pakistan Unit

HSBC Oman, 51 per cent owned by London-listed HSBC, said talks were preliminary and may or may not lead to a sale.

Oman Mulls Expat Remittance Tax, Spending Cuts As Oil Tumbles

A two per cent tax on the remittances sent by foreign workers in Oman is estimated to generate about OMR62 million.

Lulu Group Inks Deal With Oman Government To Operate $20.8m Retail Complex

The commercial complex will include a shopping centre, stores, a food court and an area for children’s games.

Omantel Q3 Net Profit Rises 3.1%, Meets Estimates

The company made a net profit of OMR30 million ($77.9 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from OMR29.1 million in the year-earlier period.

WhatsApp, Viber Do Not Hurt Revenues – Ooredoo Oman CEO

The new OTT players have helped the telecoms provider boost revenues from data usage, says the CEO.

Ailing Sultan Qaboos Tells Omanis He Will Miss Birthday Celebrations

In a video message broadcast on state television, a frail-looking Qaboos offered greetings to Omanis on the occasion of his birthday, which falls on Nov. 18 and is celebrated in Oman as a national day.

Bank Muscat’s Islamic Unit Plans Maiden Sukuk In Q1 2015

The lender has received regulatory approval for the issue, which would help fund its expansion.

Oman Islamic Banking Hits 4.4% Of Assets, May Double By 2018 -Study

The Sultanate introduced Islamic finance at the end of 2012, becoming the last country in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to do so.

Oman Likely To Start Cutting Subsidies Next Year -Minister

Oman has been considering ways to reform its costly and sometimes wasteful subsidy system, though reductions in spending would be politically sensitive

Oman Studying Ways To Limit Spending After Oil Price Plunge

Oman needs a relatively high oil price to balance its budget, so its state finances are more vulnerable than most to the drop of Brent crude oil to around $85 a barrel.

Oman Oil In Talks With US-Based Occidental Petroleum To Buy Its Local Assets

Oxy had said in October 2013 that it planned to sell a minority stake in its MENA operations as part of a restructuring programme.

Sohar Port Challenges Gulf Rivals As Oman Pushes Beyond Oil

Sohar is starting to compete for traffic with Jebel Ali and other top Gulf ports, as part of a far-reaching plan by Oman to diversify its economy beyond oil.

Omani Telco Nawras Q3 Net Profit Jumps 36%

Nawras had 2.51 million subscribers as of Sept. 30, up 6.5 per cent from a year ago.

Oman’s Bank Dhofar Q3 Net Profit Rises 18%, Misses Estimates

The bank made a net profit of OMR9.8 million ($25.5 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from OMR8.3 million in the same period of 2013.

Bank Muscat Q3 Net Profit Rises 2.5%, Misses Estimates

The bank made a quarterly profit of OMR40.39 million ($104.9 million) in the three months to September 30, it said in a statement to the Muscat bourse.

HSBC Bank Oman Q3 Net Profit Rises 9%

The lender made a net profit of OMR3.8 million ($9.87 million) in the three months to September 30, compared with OMR3.5 million in the same period of 2013.

National Bank Of Oman Q3 Profit Rises, Beats Forecasts

The lender made a net profit of OMR14.1 million in the three months to Sept. 30.

Oman’s Bank Sohar Scraps Convertible Bond, Plans OMR40m Rights Issue

The lender said that its board had decided against issuing the convertible “due to uncertainty regarding its eligibility as an additional Tier 1 instrument”.

Oman’s Raysut Cement Posts 17.8% Q3 Net Profit Increase

The company made OMR5.3 million ($13.8 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with OMR4.5 million in the corresponding period of last year.

Oman Cement Q3 Net Profit Drops 39.5%

The cement producer made a net profit after tax of OMR2.3 million ($6.0 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with OMR3.8 million in the corresponding period of 2013.

Oman Sets Up Central Sharia Board To Boost Islamic Finance

The central bank appointed five members to its sharia board, which will have direct oversight of Islamic banking institutions.

US-Based Firm Inks Deal With Oman Government To Develop $2.5bn Project

As per the deal, Omagine LLC will design, develop, own and operate a mixed-use project called the Omagine Project in the Sultanate.

BP Awards $730m Drilling Contracts For Oman’s Tight Gas Project

The Khazzan project aims to extract around one billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of gas.

Oman Says Sultan In Good Health After Medical Tests

Sultan Qaboos has been in Germany since July for medical tests.

Oman’s Bank Sohar Says CEO Resigns, Names CFO As Acting Head

Rashad Ali al-Musafir, the bank’s chief financial officer, would replace Kalmoor as acting CEO for an interim period, the bank said in a bourse filing.

Omani Lender NBO Prices Cheap $500m Bond On High Investor Demand

Investor orders topped $1.6 billion for NBO’s issue, a source with knowledge of the deal said.

National Bank of Oman Sets Final Guidance For Bond; Books Top $1.2bn

The Sultanate’s second-largest lender by assets is earmarked to price its deal at 140 basis points, plus or minus 5 bps, over midswaps.