Sectors — IFC Oman
Capital Markets
Sukuk, debt, equity, and structured finance for issuers across the Islamic world and the Indian Ocean.
Capital markets at IFC Oman
A regulated origination, listing, and trading platform.
IFC Oman’s capital markets framework is designed to serve three growing pools of demand: the Islamic world’s appetite for Sukuk, the Gulf’s expanding private credit market, and the cross-border equity issuance needs of companies operating across the Indian Ocean region.
The framework is hosted under common law. Bond indentures, trust deeds, security documents, and subscription agreements are governed and enforceable inside the jurisdiction without re-characterisation. For institutional investors and issuers already accustomed to English law capital markets documentation, IFC Oman requires no adaptation.
Origination, listing, and settlement
Proposition
Why IFC Oman for capital markets.
01
Common-law documentation
A regulated address and a team on the ground, close to GCC sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors that expect a genuine regional presence from their managers.
02
Sukuk-native framework
Regulatory and legal infrastructure for the full range of Sukuk structures, Ijara, Murabaha, Musharaka, and Wakala, familiar to international Islamic investors and Shari’a scholars.
03
Regulated exchange and listing authority
The framework provides for a regulated securities exchange and listing authority for debt and equity securities issued in and through IFC Oman.
04
GCC Islamic investor access
A regulated bridge to sovereign wealth, Islamic banks, and takaful operators across the Gulf, and to institutional Islamic demand in Southeast and South Asia.
05
Indian Ocean corridor reach
A regulated address for issuers and originators serving the Gulf, South Asia, and East Africa trade and investment corridors.
06
Sovereign anchor
Oman is itself an active sovereign Sukuk issuer, with Omani corporates and quasi-sovereigns increasingly present in the market.
07
Independent regulation
Authorisation and supervision by the IFC Oman Regulatory Authority, operating on international standards for capital markets conduct and disclosure.
08
Full activity licence set
Seven regulated capital markets activities, from equity underwriting through listing and exchange services, available under a single authorisation regime.
What you can do here
Seven regulated activities.
IFC Oman’s regulatory framework supports the following capital markets activities, subject to authorisation by the IFC Oman Regulatory Authority.
01
Equity underwriting and book-running
Lead management and distribution of equity offerings.
Lead management and distribution of equity offerings for IFC Oman-regulated issuers and Omani corporates, from prospectus preparation through allocation and settlement.
02
Debt origination and syndication
Investment grade, high-yield, and syndicated loans.
Investment grade and high-yield bond issuance, private placements, and syndicated loan origination for Gulf, South Asian, and African borrowers.
03
Sukuk origination and structuring
Ijara, Murabaha, Musharaka, and Wakala structures.
Islamic bond origination across the full range of Sukuk structures for sovereign, quasi-sovereign, and corporate issuers, hosted under common law and familiar to international Islamic investors.
04
Securities broking and dealing
Regulated trading and market-making.
Regulated securities trading and market-making for professional investors in IFC Oman-listed and international securities.
05
Structured products
Credit-linked notes, capital-protected products, and bespoke structured investment solutions for institutional and professional clients.
06
Listing and exchange services
A regulated securities exchange and listing authority.
The regulatory framework provides for the establishment of a regulated securities exchange and listing authority for debt and equity securities.
07
Ratings advisory and pre-issuance services
Rating, documentation, and investor presentation support.
Supporting issuers through the credit rating, legal documentation, and investor presentation process ahead of public or private market transactions.
At a glance
The fund platform in numbers.
The Sukuk opportunity
The Sukuk opportunity.
Sukuk issuance is one of the highest-growth areas in global fixed income. The depth of Islamic investor appetite sits in the GCC, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, and is increasingly matched by the willingness of non-Muslim-majority sovereigns and corporates to access this investor base. Outstanding global Sukuk issuance has grown past USD 800 billion.
The Sultanate of Oman is itself an active sovereign Sukuk issuer, and Omani corporates and quasi-sovereigns are increasingly active in the market. IFC Oman provides the regulatory and legal infrastructure for Sukuk issuance vehicles to be constituted under a common law framework that is familiar to international Islamic investors and their Shari’a scholars.
For non-Omani issuers, African sovereigns, South Asian corporates, Asian infrastructure companies, IFC Oman can serve as the issuance jurisdiction of choice for accessing GCC Islamic investor demand.
Outstanding global Sukuk issuance
$800B+
Ijara
Lease-based. The most widely used structure for sovereign and corporate issuances.
Murabaha
Cost-plus sale structures, common in shorter-tenor issuance.
Musharaka
Equity-partnership structures for project finance and longer-tenor instruments.
Wakala
Agency-based structures used for hybrid and corporate Sukuk.
Outstanding global Sukuk issuance
GCC
Sovereign wealth, Islamic banks, takaful operators.
Southeast Asia
Malaysian and Indonesian institutional Islamic demand.
South Asia
Growing Sukuk issuance and investor appetite across Pakistan and the Gulf-South Asia corridor.
The Sukuk opportunity
Private credit and regional debt.
The Gulf private credit market is in an early but accelerating growth phase. Regional family offices, sovereign-adjacent investment vehicles, and international private credit managers are building allocations to direct lending, trade finance, and real asset debt across the GCC and the wider region. IFC Oman provides a regulated platform for the vehicles that house that capital.
Private credit fund structures
Private credit fund structures and their managers, investing in Omani and regional debt opportunities.
Collateralised financing vehicles
Collateralised financing vehicles and structured finance SPVs for specific asset portfolios.
Trade finance vehicles
Trade finance vehicles providing working capital financing to Gulf, South Asia, and Africa trade flows.
Real estate debt vehicles
Real estate debt vehicles providing mezzanine and senior financing to Omani and regional property projects.
The Sukuk opportunity
The common-law advantage.
Capital markets transactions, bond indentures, trust deeds, security documents, subscription agreements, are almost universally documented under English law. IFC Oman’s common law framework means those documents are directly governed and enforceable within the jurisdiction. For investors and issuers accustomed to English law capital markets documentation, IFC Oman requires no adaptation.
01
Bond indentures and trust deeds.
Indentures, trust deeds, and inter-creditor agreements drafted under English law are recognised and enforceable inside IFC Oman without re-characterisation under civil law principles.
02
Bond indentures and trust deeds.
Indentures, trust deeds, and inter-creditor agreements drafted under English law are recognised and enforceable inside IFC Oman without re-characterisation under civil law principles.
03
Bond indentures and trust deeds.
Indentures, trust deeds, and inter-creditor agreements drafted under English law are recognised and enforceable inside IFC Oman without re-characterisation under civil law principles.
Continue exploring
The eight pillars of IFC Oman.
Move between the sectors of IFC Oman’s regulated platform.
Trade finance, corporate banking, investment banking, and private wealth.
03
Capital Markets
Debt and equity issuance, Sukuk, structured finance.
You are here
Law, accounting, audit, compliance, and management consulting.
Cross-border holding vehicles, PE and VC platforms, family offices, joint ventures.
Issue from Oman.
Speak to the IFC Oman desk for a single point of contact across origination, documentation, listing, and settlement of your issuance.