It’s homecoming for Mashreq as the bank opens in Oman

It’s a homecoming of sorts for our friends at Mashreq, a leading MENA financial institution and a sponsor of EnterprisePM Egypt and EnterpriseAM UAE. The Dubai-headquartered lender started life in 1967 as the Bank of Oman and yesterday opened its first branch in Muscat.

The formal addition of Oman to Mashreq’s footprint gives the bank a direct presence in 14 markets and major global financial centers, ranging from the UAE and Egypt to Pakistan, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and New York.

With Oman increasingly on the radar for regional companies and investors alike, we spoke in Muscat with some of Mashreq’s top execs about why Oman, why now, and what the opportunity looks like going forward.

Why does Mashreq like Oman? Group Head of International Banking Tarek El Nahas singled out “logistics, tourism, manufacturing, and renewable energy,” among other sectors, pointing to Oman’s ambitious Vision 2040 program, which calls for the building of a globally competitive economy while prioritizing environmental sustainability.

Mashreq is no stranger to the Sultanate, said Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal. “We’ve been here for decades working with corporate clients, the government, and quasi-governmental agencies,” he noted, adding that its market entry is “in line with Oman’s Vision 2040 and emphasizes unlocking value for our clients through corporate banking, sustainable finance, and digital innovation.”

What’s in the pipeline right now for Mashreq? “We’ve long been partners with the sovereign and many of the government-related entities and larger corporate clients here in Oman, where we’ve been involved in multiple debt capital market transactions in the past two or three years for players such as Energy Development Oman,” El Nahas said. “We’re in active discussions with the government on sovereign issuances, and we’re seeing more and more of our clients — regional and international alike — enter Oman. There is a lot of foreign direct investment coming into the country, and it’s on the cusp of investment grade. We want to bring more regional and global businesses into the country, then serve their needs, whether that’s local-currency solutions or cash-management solutions. In parallel, we want to be a conduit to global markets for Omani companies.”

“Government institutions and large corporates are clearly attractive and we’re open to multiple sectors,” said Alsalt Al Kharusi, an Omani citizen and veteran of HSBC and Oman Arab Bank who joined Mashreq a year ago to launch the franchise in Oman.

El Nahas was careful to note Mashreq’s credentials in the sustainable finance segment, pointing out that “we’ve made a commitment to assist in raising sustainable finance worth USD 30 bn by 2030. We’re well on the way — in fact, we’re slightly exceeding our targets. And it’s not just in the UAE; we’re leading on sustainable financing for our clients across the GCC, in India, in Africa. This is exactly in line with Oman’s strategy on digital transformation and sustainable finance.”

Mashreq aims to be profitable in Oman from day one, said Al Ghurair, a goal he says is rare and possible “because of our unique segment of clients here.”