Foreigners Are the Only Net Buyers as Oman Turnover Jumps 655 Percent
The value of securities traded on the Muscat Stock Exchange reached six thousand nine hundred and twenty three point four zero three million Omani rials in the first half of 2026, up six hundred and fifty four point eight percent on the same period a year earlier, the National Centre for Statistics and Information said on 9 August. Volume rose three hundred and thirty seven point four percent to twenty three thousand one hundred and fifty seven point four two four million securities.
The main index closed the half at seven thousand five hundred and seven point nine points, against four thousand five hundred point nine a year earlier, a rise of sixty six point eight percent. The exchange’s own June snapshot puts the MSX 30 at seven thousand five hundred and seven point nine four points, confirming the level. By sector the financial index stood at thirteen thousand and eighty five points, industrial at nine thousand seven hundred and fifty seven and services at three thousand and fifty.
Across the half, foreign investors were net buyers of seventy three point eight seven seven million rials. Every other category sold. Other Gulf investors were net sellers of sixty six point nine eight three million rials, other Arab investors net sellers of six point one two one million, and Omani investors net sellers of zero point seven seven three million.
| Investor group, first half 2026 | Net position |
| Foreign investors | Net buyers, 73.877 million rials |
| Other Gulf investors | Net sellers, 66.983 million rials |
| Other Arab investors | Net sellers, 6.121 million rials |
| Omani investors | Net sellers, 0.773 million rials |
Two points of context matter for reading the turnover figure. The base was low: the implied first half of 2025 is about nine hundred and seventeen million rials. And the increase is not explained by a new listing. Oman’s first company initial public offering of 2026, the sale of twenty five percent of Oman India Fertiliser Company at about two hundred and sixty point nine million rials, closed its subscription on 25 June but did not begin trading until 8 July, after the period the statistics cover. Neither the statistics centre nor the exchange published an explanation for the rise alongside the figures.
Why it matters: The published figures do not establish that foreign investors drove this. Their net purchase of seventy three point eight seven seven million rials is about one percent of almost seven billion rials of gross turnover, and net nationality positions and gross turnover measure different things. What the data do show is that foreign investors were the only group with a positive net position across six months in which both activity and valuations rose sharply. That makes foreign participation a directional signal and not an explanation. Without an official breakdown of transaction concentration or block trades, attribution should stop there, and neither the statistics centre nor the exchange offered one.
Looking ahead: The composition of second half turnover changes once the Oman India Fertiliser listing of 8 July enters the data. Watch whether foreign investors remain net buyers with that listing included, and whether domestic investors return.
Sources: National Centre for Statistics and Information of Oman; Muscat Stock Exchange.
