MSM set to launch first stock game competition

Muscat Securities Market (MSM) will open the first day of its sixth annual MSM gathering at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) today, under the auspices of Dr Ali Al Bemani, vice-chancellor of the SQU and Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, executive president of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and in cooperation with Sultan Qaboos University.

The forum will be open for two days, today and tomorrow, and the participants will include senior officials from the financial sector in Oman, CMA, Muscat Clearing & Depository Company, Brokers Association Oman, local and international banks, Omani brokerage firms, students from SQU and other educational institutions in the Sultanate of Oman.

The forum will include the Muscat Securities Market's sixth exhibition on education, in addition to the activities of some participating students from the faculty of Commerce and Economics in related aspects of investment and savings.

The gathering will offer investment experience to the students. It also will distribute brochures and pamphlets tariff which contribute to raising awareness on the saving and investment knowledge among visitors.

There will also be an awareness laboratory for school and university students to shed light about the functioning of the MSM. Dr Ali Al Bimani and Yahya Al Jabri will inaugurate and take part in the first ever 'Stock Game Competition' in Oman. Muscat Securities Market that launched its 'Awareness Portal' (www.msmlearning.gov.om) in 2009 during its 20th year anniversary celebrations, has created and launched Oman's own and first investment game, that gives its players a firsthand trading and investment experience without actually having to risk their money.

Competition
MSM Stock Game incorporates MSM web service through which contestants can trade securities on real market prices. The entry to the competition will be free and contestants will be able to register by simply providing their real names, email address and contact details, and after a period of time top winners of the game will be awarded prizes.

Other events include the sixth edition of the prize distribution among the winners of the MSM Market Research Competition, organised in cooperation with the SQU. There will also be a special corner for school students in order to teach them ways of saving and investment.

There will be a seminar on the incentives and the challenges of investing in financial markets involving a number of officials from the capital markets, Oman and run by Ahmed bin Abdul Karim Hooti, director of Information & Awareness, MSM. This seminar is slated for tomorrow at 11am. The forum is sponsored by BankMuscat.