The market value of the 500 most heavily capitalised companies quoted on the Middle East's stock exchanges almost doubled in the year ending 30 September to $252,107 million, according to a survey by MEED's sister magazine, meedmoney. Banks still dominate among the top 500 firms, accounting for about 35 per cent of their total market value.

Saudi banks and companies made up roughly a fifth of the value of the top 500 firms: 47 stocks from the kingdom made it on to the list with a total capitalisation of $56,427 million. This was slightly down on the previous year. The share of Turkish stocks in the total rose to 21 per cent from 16 per cent, while the steepest rise in market value came from the Omani stock market, the best performer in the Arab world this year. This year, there were 26 Omani firms in the top 500, with a combined value of $6,000 million, compared to 19 last year, with a value of $1,847 million.

The largest quoted companies, on average, are found in Saudi Arabia. Those Saudi firms that made it into the top 500 had an average market capitalisation of $1,201 million, followed by the UAE with $824 million. The average capitalisation for all 500 stocks was $504 million. Tunisian firms averaged a market value of $150 million, the lowest in the survey.

The largest quoted stocks in the region are telecommunications companies. There are only nine of them among the top 500 stocks, but their average market value is $1,800 million. Power companies came second in average value, followed by banks. The most valuable quoted firm in the Middle East remains the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation at $12,640 million, up 27 per cent since 1996. The second is Etisalat, whose market value rose by 46 per cent to almost $7,000 million, and the third was Al-Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation. Al-Rajhi has the highest stock market capitalisation of any listed bank in the Middle East. The MEEDMONEY 500 annual survey covers 12 Arab markets, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Cyprus and Pakistan.