Telecom shares drop further in Oman

Muscat: Shares of two telecommunication service providers in Oman have dropped further on Monday, after a severe drop in value on the previous day following an increase in royalty paid by these firms to 12 per cent of revenues in 2017 from 7 per cent earlier.
Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) shares dropped by 2.07 per cent to close at OMR1.42 amid 311,000 shares changing hands, while Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company (Ooredoo) shares fell by 1.96 per cent to 600 baisas after a trading of 1.66 million shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) on Monday. Ooredoo shares plunged by 7.27 per cent, while Omantel shares dropped by 4.29 per cent on Sunday.
A severe drop in oil revenue has prompted the government to find alternative sources of revenue, through new levies and increase in existing taxes. Although there was a serious discussion on raising telecom royalty in January 2016, the government did not take a decision at that point of time.