Oman market crashes for second day

Muscat: Despite assurances from top government officials on the insularity of Oman's financial and investment institutes from the global financial crisis, the Muscat Securities Markets (MSM) slumped for the second successive day yesterday.

The MSM 30 Index was down by 171.31 points (2.36 per cent) as every sector went down, with the banking industry suffering the most.

Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Macki, Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, affirmed that Oman's financial and investment institutions are immune to being directly affected by the current global financial crisis and that the economic situation in the Sultanate is resilient.

"The Omani government is going ahead with development plans, programmes and projects thanks to the wise policies pursued by the government of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos," he said after meeting visiting French minister of State for External Trade, Anne-Marie Idrac.

"Tenders for major projects will be floated shortly and the French companies may bid for them," he noted. Macki urged the French official to play a bigger role in expediting the free trade agreement between GCC countries and the EU as it would create a platform for broader commercial and economic co-operation.

He said the GCC sover-eign funds will continue their foreign investments with the same transparency and planning.