• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.229-235
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• 2021

The ability of entrepreneurs to arrange working capital is the key to maximizing the profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises and the wealth of entrepreneurs. The study investigates the correlation between entrepreneurs' working capital management and the profitability of SMEs listed on six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock exchanges between 2019 and 2020. The secondary data is collected from the financial statements of SMEs listed on the six GCC stock exchanges. Actual sample for the research study was a total of 136 small- and medium-sized enterprises selected using purposive sampling methods. Four research models were considered in this analysis, all ending up affecting gross profits. The selected entrepreneurial SMEs were listed on six different Gulf Cooperation Council stock exchanges during 2019-2020. The fixed financial assets ratio, financial debt ratio, and company size are used as control variables and data were analyzed using multiple regression. The research results demonstrate that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between profitability measured by gross profit and cash cycle and the components of the cash cycle (including days of accounts receivable and days of inventory). The study further reveals that there is no significant correlation between gross profit and days of accounts payable.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2021

This research aims to investigate the impact of falling oil prices at the beginning of 2020 on 82 industrial companies listed on the GCC stock markets. The research sample period is divided into two periods pre-COVID and during COVID covering the period starting 1st January 2020 to May 15, 2020. The research uses the Panel Least Square (PLS) method and Panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) with fixed and random effects in each country. The results of GMM models reveal a positive relationship between oil prices and the share prices of industrial companies in the Gulf countries, which confirms that the share prices of industrial companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been negatively affected by the decline in oil prices with the beginning of 2020. The findings show that the highest impact of falling oil prices has been recorded in the industrial companies in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, the falling of oil prices does not have a significant effect on industrial companies in the state of Qatar. The research results suggest that GCC economies have to move on the path of non-reliance on Oil and gas-driven economy.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.337-344
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• 2020

Stability and sustainability of the biggest banks in any country are extremely important. When big banks become unstable and vulnerable, they typically stop lending. The resulting credit squeeze pushes the economy into recession or a slow growth path. The present study examines the financial stability and sustainability of the 30 large banks operating in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. These banks represent 70% of the GCC banking market. Monte Carlo simulation was attempted assuming that key drivers can vary randomly by twenty percent on either side of the current values. The conclusions are drawn based on 300 simulation trails of the five-year forecast balance and income statement of each bank. Year 2020 is not favorable for the GCC countries because of the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices, though the future years may be better. The study identifies several banks, which may become financially unsustainable because the simulations indicate the possibility of negative profitability, unacceptably low capital ratios and potential for heavy credit losses during periods of economic turbulence, which is the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through simulation the paper is able to throw light on which factors lead to bank instability and weakness.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.50-59
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• 2020

The 21st century is witnessing a rapid growth of tall buildings in urban centers globally to create more urban space for an anticipated urban population. Tall buildings, however suffer from incessant delays and sometimes total abandonment. Consequently, this study investigated and ranked the causes of delay in tall building projects, while focusing on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Initially, 36 common delay causes investigated globally were categorized into 9 groups, and then further ranked utilizing the Relative Importance Index (RII) through a questionnaire survey. Tall building professionals in the GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) were contacted. The respondents' categories include Consultants, Contractors, and Clients' Representatives/Facility Managers. The results reveal that the top three causes include "client's cash flow problems/delays in contractor's payment", "contractor's financial difficulties", and "poor site organization and coordination between various parties". The findings from this study could help construction professionals develop guidelines and controls for delay mitigation, as well as support them in risk-based decision making in the planning of tall building projects.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.17-44
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• 2015

Due to the oil business, settlements in the Gulf Region developed into prosperous cities. But in the near future, oil is off. The plans of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states bank on diversified and knowledge-intensive economies. Are those development plans realistic? What is the state of the art of knowledge institutions in the GCC countries? Applying the theoretical frameworks of Knowledge City and Science Indicators research, we empirically and theoretically studied the emerging Gulf cities Kuwait City (Kuwait), Manama (Bahrain), Doha (Qatar), Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah (all UAE), and Muscat (Oman). Our methodological framework includes grounded theory, ethnographic field study, ServQual-like quantitative questionnaires and semi-standardized qualitative interviews conducted on-site with informed people, informetrics, and, finally, the use of official statistics. In particular, we describe and analyze the cities' knowledge infrastructures, their academics, and expenditure on R&D as input indicators; and publications as well as graduates as output indicators. A further crucial aspect of a knowledge society is the transition of graduates into knowledge-intensive public services and private companies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2801-2804
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• 2016

It is conventionally accepted that renal cell carcinoma (RCC) occurs in older patients and the clear cell type is the most common histology. However, ethnic variations exist and this study was carried out to determine the epidemiological pattern of RCC in Oman. Ninety RCC patients who presented to a tertiary care center in the Sultanate of Oman from 2010 to 2014 were studied. The main findings were that the median age of presentation was low, more patients presented with localized stage, and there was a higher incidence of non-clear (especially papillary) histology. Data from other Gulf countries and possible reasons for the different profile are discussed.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.135-142
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• 2016

Although growth potential of trade between Korea and the GCC region has existed in various fields through economic and business cooperation, few data and practical study related with trade structure and cooperation between Korea and GCC region have been found and the potential for further economic expansion has not been extensively explored. In this sense, this study is to analyze trade flows between Korea and GCC region countries(Saudi Arabia, Unites Arab Emirates, Qatar) using trade intensity index, trade complementarity index and special country bias index, identify potential for further expansion of Korea's trade into the GCC region and further propose the implication of FTA between mutual countries. Our analysis of trade flows also demonstrates that there is a high level of trade complementarity between Korea and GCC region. It means that increase of trade complementarity and special country bias come from removing not only trade barrier and increasing but also capital movement. Especially, the study reveals that there is an untapped potential for Korea to increase its exports to Saudi, based on the highest complementarities. Export expansion between Korea and Saudi through FTA will create new opportunity in near future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2375-2382
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• 2016

Cancer is a major health problem in Oman. It is reported that cancer incidence in Oman is the second highest after Saudi Arabia among Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Based on GLOBOCAN estimates, Oman is predicted to face an almost two-fold increase in cancer incidence in the period 2008-2020. However, cancer research in Oman is still in its infancy. This is due to the fact that medical institutions and infrastructure that play central roles in data collection and analysis are relatively new developments in Oman. We believe the country requires an organized plan and efforts to promote local cancer research. In this paper, we discuss current research progress in cancer diagnosis using machine learning techniques to optimize computer aided cancer detection and classification (CAD). We specifically discuss CAD using two major medical data, i.e., medical imaging and microarray gene expression profiling, because medical imaging like mammography, MRI, and PET have been widely used in Oman for assisting radiologists in early cancer diagnosis and microarray data have been proven to be a reliable source for differential diagnosis. We also discuss future cancer research directions and benefits to Oman economy for entering the cancer research and treatment business as it is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.19-23
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• 2017

It is undisputable that crude oil and its price fluctuations are major components that affect most of the countries' economies. Recent studies have demonstrated that beside the impact that crude oil price fluctuations have on common macroeconomic indicators like gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rates, exchange rates, unemployment rate, etc., it also has a strong influence on stock markets and their performance. This relationship has been examined in a number of settings, but it is yet to be unraveled in the Omani context. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to examine the possible effect of the oil price fluctuations on stock price movements. The study applies Toda and Yamamoto's (1995) Granger non-causality test on the daily Oman stock index (Muscat Securities Market Index) and oil prices between the period of 2 January 2003 and 13 March 2016. The results indicated that the oil price fluctuations have a significant impact on stock index movements. However, the stock price movements do not have a significant impact on oil prices. These findings have significant implications not only for the Omani economy but also for the economy of similar countries, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The latter should carefully consider their policies and strategies regarding crude oil production and the generated income allocation as it might potentially affect the financial markets performance in these countries.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.8
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• pp.185-195
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• 2020

This study examines the association between governance quality at country level and stock market performance. Specifically, the study investigates the influence of control of corruption, government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence, rule of law, regulatory quality, and voice and accountability on all-share index of the stock markets of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This study is anchored on two theories - the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) and Institutional Theory. The study employs panel data spanning from 2006 to 2017. The findings show that political stability and absence of violence and rule of law exhibit a significant positive impact on stock market performance, while regulatory quality and voice and accountability have a significant, but negative relationship with stock market performance. The results imply that quality of governance in terms of rule of law and political stability devoid of violence have strong impact on stock market returns. Similarly, improved stock market returns are largely dependent on the efficiency of the institutional environment of market as investors are always wary of the inherent risks associated with the uncertainty of the market. This study has crucial policy implications for the government of the GCC countries and stock market participants.