Four Omani firms among most powerful 100 Middle East companies in 2020

Four Omani firms have been ranked among the most powerful 100 companies in the Middle East for the year 2020 by Forbes magazine.

The four firms are Bank Muscat, Omantel, the Oman International Development and Investment Company and the National Bank of Oman.

According to the magazine, the profits of Bank Muscat in 2019 amounted to about OMR185.6 million, which is equivalent to US$482 million, and the value of its assets is about OMR12.3 billion, which is equivalent to US$31.9 billion.

The profits of the National Bank of Oman reached OMR51.35 million, equivalent to US$133.5 million, its assets amounted to OMR3.65 billion, equivalent to US$9.5 billion.

The profits of the Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) in 2019 amounted to about OMR299.6 million, which is equivalent to US$779 million, and the value of the assets is OMR7.6 billion, equivalent to US$19.8 billion.

The profits of the Oman International Development and Investment Company (Ominvest) amounted to OMR49.6 million, which is equivalent to US$128.96 million, and the value of its assets is OMR3 billion, equivalent to US$7.8 billion.

The magazine said that the Covid-19 pandemic affected the market values of public companies in the Middle East over the first three months of this year, as their market values fell sharply, like the global financial markets, which were plunged by the pandemic.

The magazine emphasised," Though the effects of the crisis are not seen on the results of the companies’ business in the first quarter of this year, the entry and topping of Saudi Aramco the list of the most powerful 100 companies in the Middle East — led to a breakthrough in the combined values of the list.

The company's consolidated sales jumped to US$670 billion, and recorded net profits of US$148 billion, US$3.5 trillion for assets, and US$2.3 trillion for market value.

Forbes Magazine explained that the list (the most powerful 100 companies in the Middle East 2020) includes the largest 100 public companies, and the most profitable are traded in the financial markets in the region.

The banking and financial institutions sector came at the top of the sectors represented in the list by 46 financial institutions, followed by the industrial sector with 9 companies. The real estate — construction and communications sectors ranked third with 8 companies each.