Posted by: amj_admin on December 3, 2021 - 6:18 am

AMJ partnered the Islamic Finance News in staging a successful 6th IFN Oman Forum at the Grand Millennium, Muscat on 26th October 2021. The day-long annual event attracted a record number of industry players, regulators and legal experts gathered to deliberate the future of Islamic retail banking, capital markets and takaful in Oman. The forum was attended by delegates physically as well as virtually.

The forum opened with a key note address to an audience of bankers, issuers and other key stakeholders from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia from H.E. Tahir Salim Al Amri, the Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman who welcomed the speakers covering topics of transition and sustainability, sukuk and investment funds, linked finance, Islamic fintech and crowdfunding platforms and issues facing Islamic banks and Islamic financing in Oman. He noted that “outlining the strategic direction of the Islamic banking industry will promote the healthy and balanced growth of the sector, attract foreign investors, and ease the path for collaboration between international and regional partners, Islamic finance standard setters and multilateral organisations for training, awareness building and transfer of knowledge.  Despite unprecedented macroeconomic developments and Covid-induced challenges, Oman’s Islamic banking sector demonstrated a robust and consistent performance”.  During 2021, Islamic banking in Oman accounted for OMR 5.7 billion (15.13 per cent) of total banking assets as of June 30 2021, the impressive growth had led the Sultanate to become the 15th largest Islamic banking market at the international level.

During the course of the day, a high-level line-up of speakers participated in a series of panel discussions. Mr Mansoor J Malik participated as a moderator in a panel session, discussing a range of varied topics: including how incentives under Oman Vision 2040 could provide a stimulus for the real economy by supporting funding for SMEs and corporates, how the sector could support the shift away from hydrocarbons toward a more diversified economy, and how Islamic banks could work toward developing more social impact products and strategies to promote entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in the country.

Posted by: amj_admin on April 22, 2018 - 10:39 am

Developing a robust debt capital market to sustain long-term economic growth has been high on Oman’s policy agenda for some years. This policy is beginning to pay dividends with the value of the bonds and sukuk segment of the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) growing by 32% to OMR2.63 billion during the period 2016 to 2017. This represents about 15% of the MSM’s total market capitalisation and an average annual increase of 46% over the last five years.

In a keynote address to the Oman Debt Capital Market Conference held in Muscat on April 18, the head of Oman’s Capital Market Authority (CMA), Sheikh Abdullah Al Salmi, attributed the strong growth to CMA measures to promote debt capital market instruments as an alternative funding mechanism for both government and private sector in addition to stimulating FDI. CMA measures include focusing on key areas of market infrastructure, regulation and product innovation in both the conventional and Islamic segments.

The day-long conference organised by the Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) in partnership with Al Busaidy Mansoor Jamal & Co (AMJ), and Maisarah, Bank Dhofar’s Islamic banking window, assembled industry players, legal experts and stakeholders to discuss the development of both conventional and Islamic debt markets. A panel moderated by AMJ’s Islamic finance specialist, Asad Qayyum, identified the introduction of more diverse and complex instruments and structured products as a key factor to driving development and promoting financial stability.

As at June 2018, the value of bonds and sukuks on the MSM has risen to OMR2.85 billion.

Posted by: amj_admin on March 20, 2018 - 6:18 am

AMJ partnered the Islamic Finance News in staging a successful third Oman Forum at the Grand Millennium, Muscat on March 13. The day-long annual event attracted a record number of industry players, regulators and legal experts gathered to deliberate the future of Islamic retail banking, capital markets and takaful in Oman. In his keynote address to an audience of more than 200 bankers, issuers and other key stakeholders from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia, new Central Bank of Oman chief, Tahir Salim Al Amri, noted that while Islamic banking in Oman accounted for OMR 3.03bn (12.9 per cent) of total banking assets at the end of 2017, the impressive growth trajectory of the segment shows signs of tapering. He urged Islamic banks and windows to focus on innovation and the introduction of new sharia-compliant financial products and services that are not clones of conventional banking offerings. This recurrent theme had been highlighted by AMJ’s managing partner, Mansoor Jamal Malik  in the 2017 Forum when he called for alternative investment products to maintain growth and create a vibrant and sustainable market.

During the course of the day, a high-level line-up of speakers participated in a series of panel discussions, case studies and presentations, on the opportunities and challenges in the Islamic market for both capital-raising and investment. Senior associate, Asad Qayyum , participated in a panel session of experts discussing the sharia-compliant project finance structures and future of Oman’s Islamic capital markets.

Posted by: amj_admin on February 5, 2018 - 8:34 am

Posted by: amj_admin on February 4, 2018 - 7:05 am

AMJ won the inaugural ‘Oman Law Firm of the Year 2017’ award at The Oath Middle East Awards ceremony hosted by Niche Publishers at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in November 2017. The Firm also received an honourable mention in the small regional firm category.

Over 300 legal professionals from the region attended the Oath Award. The event debuted in 2015 to celebrate law firms, general counsel and in-house teams who are ‘revolutionising the region with their outstanding contribution’. The judging panel includes prominent regional counsel and the Awards process is independently audited by Grant Thornton.

AMJ’s founder and managing partner, Mansoor Jamal Malik commenting on the Award said, “We are delighted to be the first recipients of The Oath’s Oman Law Firm of the Year Award and to have been shortlisted in the small regional law firm of the year category. Recognition by the top legal counsel and industry leaders in the GCC region is a stellar achievement for an Omani firm. It underscores the partnership’s unwavering commitment to raising standards of legal advice and service to the business community in Oman and beyond.”

The previous month, AMJ had won the ‘Oman Law Firm of the Year’ for the seventh year in a row at the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) 2017 Middle East Awards, as well as the IFLR’s ‘Domestic Deal of the Year’ award for its work on a merger between the International Petroleum Investment Company and Mubadala Development Company.

For more information, contact Bernadette Bhacker-Millard

Posted by: amj_admin on November 23, 2017 - 12:15 pm

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Posted by: amj_admin on March 17, 2017 - 9:54 am

AMJ partnered the Islamic Finance News in staging a successful second Oman Forum and Dialogue at the Grand Millennium, Muscat on March 7. The day-long event gathered over 150 industry players, legal experts and stakeholders from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia in an audience with the regulators to discuss trends in Oman’s fast-growing Islamic finance industry.

In the opening keynote address H.E Abdullah Salim Al-Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that two private sector sukuk programmes totalling OMR 300million (US$ 780million), have received initial approval from the CMA. These sukuk programmes are the ‘first of a kind’ under Oman’s new sukuk regulation and come as the government is contemplating a second international sovereign issuance.

In a second keynote, H.E Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, the executive president of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) expressed satisfaction with the pace of development in the Islamic finance segment. In the short span of four years, the combined assets of Oman’s Islamic banks and windows had reached OMR 3billion, representing a 10% market share, by the end of December 2016.

AMJ’s managing partner, Mansoor Malik, shared his insights on Islamic finance regulatory frameworks in two expert panel sessions. He stressed the need for the industry and regulators to embrace alternative investment products in order to maintain the positive growth trajectory of the Shariah compliant segment and create a vibrant and sustainable market. Malik recently advised on the Sultanate’s international US$500 million sukuk, which was privately placed and settled on 14 July 2016, as well as the sovereign’s debut sukuk and preceding corporate sukuk, the first of its kind in Oman.

AMJ’s banking partner, Marcus Pery, participated in the Forum’s closed-door dialogue on developing Oman’s Islamic financial markets, between industry experts and CMA and CBO representatives. Senior associate, Asad Qayyum delivered a workshop to students on legal and regulatory issues in Islamic finance.

For more information, contact Bernadette Bhacker-Millard

Posted by: amj_admin on March 7, 2017 - 12:41 pm