Omani stocks are heading for their best week in more than a decade as optimism builds that the Gulf bourse’s push to be classified as an emerging market would unlock fresh investor inflows.
Muscat’s MSX 30 benchmark has advanced more than 9% since Sunday to its highest level since 2014. Gains of nearly 20% so far this year are almost double those for MSCI Inc.’s emerging-market index.
The rally reflects growing anticipation that Oman could secure an MSCI upgrade as trading volumes improve and a spate of recent listings deepen the market, said Shahrukh Saleem, a portfolio analyst at Mashreq Capital. The bourse is aiming to meet MSCI’s requirements this year and secure inclusion by 2028 at the latest.
Admission to an EM-index by providers such as MSCI or FTSE Russell typically boost bourses by generating demand from passive investment trackers and broadening the investor base.
“Oman has been the best-performing Gulf equity market year-to-date, driven primarily by large-cap stocks, which are expected to be the primary beneficiaries of any index‑driven inflows,” Saleem said. Oman’s macroeconomic backdrop remains supportive, underpinned by steady foreign investment inflows and policies that are increasingly favorable to private-sector growth, he said.
The number of liquidity providers in Oman has also increased over the past few months, and local firms are stepping up their investor relations, further boosting stocks, according to Paolo Casamassima, executive director of investor relations and stakeholder engagement at Arqaam Capital.
Based on the latest MSCI thresholds, the country needs at least three companies to meet minimum size, free-float, and liquidity requirements for about two years, said Casamassima. Only one company - Bank Muscat SAOG - already qualifies, while two others - OQ Exploration & Production SAOG and Sohar International Bank SAOG - are close and would only need modest share-price gains to meet the criteria, he added.
The ongoing rally offers a shot in the arm for the country’s equity capital markets, which cooled in 2025 after listing volumes hit a record a year earlier. Stronger inflows would also boost the government’s privatization push and potentially lure more private players.
Energy group OQ SAOC has been key to the drive to sell down state assets and is preparing additional initial public offerings, including in its fertilizer business. The listings of OQ’s exploration and chemical units initially struggled for months before gaining traction.
An upgrade to MSCI Emerging Markets could attract about $350 million in passive inflows overnight, roughly three times the market’s average daily traded value in 2025, according to Casamassima. An additional $970 million from active managers could be unlocked over time, he said.
“The market is also very close to meeting the FTSE upgrade requirements, which could attract an additional $260 million in passive inflows” shortly after inclusion, Casamassima said.
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