ABSTRACT
The Oman Stock Market, officially called the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), was established iri June 1988 and trading activities started in 1989. The market began with 68 joint-stock companies, including 19 closed joint-stock companies, having combined paid-up capital of R0255 million ($663 million), and authorized capital of R0290 million ($754 million). Since the inception of trading in 1989, total market capitalization has expanded four-fold, and the value of traded shares has increased about 23 times, from ROT 1,8 million ($31 million) to R0267 million ($694.2 million). At the end of 1996,145 joint-stock companies including 35 closed joint-stock companies were listed in the MSM, with a total market capitalization of ROl,622.4 million ($4,218 million).
