MUSCAT, 9 January – A conducive business environment is a prerequisite for economic growth. Creating a favourable business climate stimulates inclusive and sustainable development. The Sultanate of Oman’s economic policies are based on these very fundamentals, leading to a direct impact on the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the country.
In its bid to attract FDIs, considered as one of the crucial ingredients for fostering economic development, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has been updating many laws and regulations related to investment, enhancing digital transformation in all services provided to investors, providing incentives to those who are interesting to invest in Oman and strengthening the global competitive position of the Sultanate of Oman.
Investments up
The directives from His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on economic policies and the efforts exerted by the MOCIIP have yielded fruits with a noticeable increase in the volume of investments.
The volume of direct foreign investments, till the third quarter of 2022, reached OMR18.14 billion, an increase of 10.4 per cent, compared to the same period in last year, according to MOCIIP.
The volume of trade exchange between the Sultanate of Oman and the rest of the world, till September 2022, reached OMR 30,421.4 million, an increase of 46.18 per cent.
The value of foreign direct investments in the manufacturing sector, till the end of the third quarter of 2022, reached OMR 1,717.1 million, compared to OMR1,512 million in the same period in 2021.
Qais bin Mohammad Al-Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said that “the Sultanate of Oman has a fertile environment for business.”
Business growth
He said: “The wise directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and his keen interest in facilitating and developing the business model has provided a fertile environment for business growth and investment in the Sultanate of Oman.
The country is one of the leading destinations for investors and entrepreneurs and to attract more investment, efforts are being integrated between the concerned authorities to implement these generous royal directives.”
Al Yousef added: “Accordingly, a number of legislations and regulations were issued to improve the business environment, including the amendment of some provisions of the executive regulations of the Foreign Capital Investment Law, the issuance of the Commercial Companies Regulations, and the issuance of the executive regulations to the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law. In addition to these, there has been reduction in fees for a number of government services. A number of electronic services, including automatic and investment licenses have also been launched to make it an investor-friendly nation.”
Al Yousef said: The royal directives resulted in the launch of a number of national initiatives and programs, such as the National Programme for Investment and Export Development “Nazdaher”, the investor residency programme, the fast track initiative, and the Invest in Oman lounge project, which is a one-stop shop for providing all services on investment opportunities to investors, in cooperation with the relevant government authorities and private companies in accordance with the best international practices.” — Times of Oman
