Tuesday 02 / December / 2025
Muscat--- The Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) began today. The meeting, which is hosted by the Muscat Clearing and Depository Company (MCD), will continue for several days.
The hosting of the meeting in the Sultanate of Oman affirms the advanced position achieved by the Omani capital market in adopting the best global standards related to the numbering of financial instruments, enhancing transparency and smoothness in trading, and reducing operational risks.
Hosting this meeting, which is being held for the first time in a Gulf country, comes within the framework of the continuous efforts of the Muscat Clearing and Depository Company to develop the capital market infrastructure and enhance the Sultanate of Oman's presence on the map of international financial markets.
The meeting also highlights the goals of the organization and its pivotal role in unifying the language for identifying financial instruments, which contributes to raising the efficiency of markets and facilitating the interconnection between global financial systems.
Mohammed bin Said Al Abri, CEO of Muscat Clearing and Depository Company, explained that hosting the Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting of ANNA in Muscat confirms the Sultanate of Oman's status as a trusted financial center, and supports the consolidation of transparency and sustainable growth in a promising investment environment. Since the company obtained ANNA membership in 2008, it has contributed to raising the readiness of the Omani market by numbering securities according to international numbering standards, in addition to accessing a network of global experts to enhance integration and innovation among different depository centers.
Al Abri said that CEOs and officials of depository centers and various member financial institutions from countries around the world will be hosted to discuss the future of financial markets and enhance integration and innovation in central depository, which contributes to developing the infrastructure, attracting foreign capital, and supporting the upgrade of the Muscat Stock Exchange to an emerging market.
For his part, Stephan Dreyer, Managing Director of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA), explained that the ANNA General Assembly Meeting is an important platform for discussing the future of data, enhancing transparency, and driving the harmonization of international standards concerned with the identification and classification of financial instruments.
Representatives from Oman Investment Authority, the Financial Services Authority, and the Muscat Stock Exchange are participating with working papers aimed at introducing the sector, the available investment opportunities, and the facilities provided to attract capital and investors.
This hosting reflects the Sultanate of Oman's keenness to enhance the investment environment and adopt innovation in the market infrastructure, in line with the path of economic diversification and the empowerment of the financial sector according to Oman Vision 2040.
