Oman’s extensive offshore financial assets, in addition to the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves (the combination of which amount to roughly 75% of GDP) will enable it to provide fiscal stimulus and fund projected deficits without resorting to debt accumulation, at least over the short to medium term, according to Moodys Investors Service’s latest annual credit report on the country. Oman, the economy of which relies heavily on oil and gas exports, thus retained its A2 investment-grade sovereign rating despite a collapse in world oil prices since July 2008, and dour growth prospects predicted for the current year.

One additional challenge facing Oman is its use of enhanced albeit expensive oil recovery techniques, which analysts note pushes up the cost of production. The average cost of pumping oil in Oman rose from around $8/barrel in 2005 to $16/barrel in 2008, …

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vp8WdjtxYc0/SS_2DRDT9iI/AAAAAAAAAN0/hE7nTM3xtQY/s1600-h/oman.bmp"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 370px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vp8WdjtxYc0/SS_2DRDT9iI/AAAAAAAAAN0/hE7nTM3xtQY/s400/oman.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273704224651474466" //abr /Oman is planning to set up a $390m investment fund backed by the government and other investors to support the Muscat Stock Market, which has lost a third of its value this year.

The closest thing to an ETF market in the Middle East at this point is Turkey, where there are five ETFs from two asset managers

Abu Dhabi, the major Middle East financial center, says it's preparing to create a platform to launch exchange-traded funds.

In detailing plans on Thursday, Rashed Al Baloushi, the deputy chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX), credits increasing ETF demand by retail and institutional investors in the Middle East for the exchange's decision to build an ETF-specific platform.

Across the Middle East, ETFs and other traded securities are proving more popular and catching the attention of exchanges. The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), as well as exchanges in Oman and Saudi Arabia, have also shown interest in adding ETFs.

The latest ETF plans are also part of ambitious efforts by many Middle East markets to diversify away from oil wealth and become true, global financial centers.

Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi Securities Market

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We've discussed this many times in the past [Jan 21: A Tour Through the Middle East] and as I wrote in January While we wring our collective hands about how the infrastructure companies are going to lose all their business as crude drops from $100 to $75, and projects will be cancelled due to their rich customers actually giving a rat's behind if crude is $100 or $75 let's take a look at reality. I noticed a story in the NY Times this weekend on Saudi Arabia - so I'd like to overlay that with just a snapshot of what is going on in some of the other countries in this part of the world - the Kuwaits, the Oman's, the Abu Dhabi's, the Qatar's.... ... because perhaps I think most of us still are very inward looking as Americans and do not realize ...

Effective June 26, 2008, Heritage Explorations Inc. has changed its name to USR Technology Inc. which reflects the new and exciting direction being undertaken by the company in the oil and gas services sector, specifically the provision of directional drilling services to international oil and gas companies, with emphasis on ultra-short radius, short radius and slim-hole applications. With the new name, the company also has a new trading symbol, “USRT”, on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.

There have also been other changes as it relates to corporate officers and daily operations. Effective June 20th, 2008, John L. Ogden resigned as president of the company and was appointed chairman. Serving as the new president of the company and a member of the board is J. David LaPrade, who has extensive industry experience, including 27 years in the oil and gas sector, specifically in the drilling of ultra short radius wells.

In regards to …