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The State Council ratifies vital proposals at eighth Regular Session

The eighth session of the State Council approved the proposal of the Economic Committee on the study, “the development of the capital market and the banking sector," as well as the proposal to form a special committee to study the topic of "the development of a national program of performance and creativity of the government" today.
The State Council Chairman, HE. Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, chaired the 8th Regular Session in the presence of the honourable members and the Secretary General of the Council. The Chairman delivered a speech at the opening of the session, in which he reviewed the items listed on the agenda. The eight session of the State Council approved the proposal of the Economic Committee on the study “the development of the capital market and the banking sector," as well as the proposal to form a special committee to study the topic of "the development of a national program of performance and creativity of the government" today. He congratulated Hon.Eng.Khalfan Saleh Mohamed Al Naabi for playing a distinguished pioneering role as a youth and sport leader in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and for receiving the recognition from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on 26 April. The Council discussed the proposal of the Economic Committee of the Council on the study of "Developing the capital market and the banking sector." The Head of the Economic Committee, Hon.Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Harthy explained that it is justified to keep pace with the regulations governing the money market and the capital market of regional and international banking and corporate sectors, and modernization of some of the legislated laws of these sectors. It is also justified by the small size of Omani banks, their limited impact on the economy and their role in development, as well as the significant decline in the volume of trading in the Muscat Securities Market. Al-Harthy explained that the objectives of the study was to review the situation of the banking sector and the Muscat Securities Market, to highlight the obstacles and challenges facing the banking sector and to identify the efforts of both commercial and Islamic banks, investment and brokerage companies operating in the Muscat Securities Market, the Central Bank of Oman. It also includes developing the money market and maximizing its contribution to economic development by reviewing some articles and articles of the Omani banking law. This will promote its growth, activate trading volumes on MSM, enhance liquidity and increase market performance, push government institutions to create long-term partnerships with the private sector, focus on funding promising sectors in the Sultanate outlined in the ninth Five-Year Plan. Al-Harthy pointed out that the first axis of the study of the banking sector included the examination of the views of the Association of Omani Banks, especially with regard to the Omani banking law, the Commercial Companies Law and the circulars of the regulatory authorities, as well as the Central Bank of Oman's views. The study included a review of the Muscat Securities Market and the MSM, as well as the views of government officials on the capital market. Al Harthy said that it recognizes the importance of the banking sector and the capital market in providing financing to all economic sectors and driving the economy and it validates the Councils sincere desire to find the best means for the banking sector and the capital market to support development. He further added that in the capital market axis, the recommendations included the call to restructure the MSM which will contribute to raising the efficiency of the market and its growth, create new investment tools and enable restructuring the Omani Development Bank so that it can contribute to achieving the objectives of the ninth five-year plan. Al Harthy thanked the working group of the Economic Committee tasked with the study and the members of the Committee and the Secretariat staff for their support, which assured success for the Committee. He also thanked the Central Bank of Oman, the Capital Market Authority, and Muscat Securities Market, Financial institutions for their cooperation, suggestions and contributions in enabling the documentation of the report of the study. The Council was briefed about the participation in the12th session of the Conference of the Union of Councils of the OIC Member States held on 23-28 January 2017 in Bamako, in Mali. The Arab Summit was held in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco during the period from 20-21 March 2017, and the Chairman of the Committee of the Omani-Polish Parliamentary Friendship submitted the report. The session noted the report on the visit of the Polish delegation to the Sultanate from 7-9 February, the report of the Secretariat on the activities of the Council along with the report on the status of network readiness in the Sultanate in light of the results of the Global Information Technology Report 2016.