Muscat – Oman’s unremitting efforts to attract foreign investments into the sultanate are paying dividends with the volume of foreign direct investments (FDI) going up by 10.4 per cent to RO18.14bn till Q3 of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.

The statistics show that the volume of trade exchanges between the sultanate and the rest of the world till September 2022 increased 46.18 per cent to reach RO30.421bn. The value of FDI in the manufacturing sector till Q3 of 2022 was RO1.717bn, compared to RO1.512bn over the corresponding period in 2021.

The noticeable increase in the volume of FDI, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) stated, was due to the several Royal Directives as well as efforts in updating laws and regulations related to investment, creating a suitable environment for starting businesses, enhancing digital transformation in all services provided to investors, providing incentives to those who are interested to invest in Oman and strengthening the global competitive position of the sultanate.

Qais bin Mohammad al Youssef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, emphasised that the wise directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and his keen interest in facilitating and developing the business environment has provided the sultanate a fertile environment for business growth and an attractive destination for investors and entrepreneurs.

“The Royal Directives resulted in the launch of a number of national initiatives and programmes, 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,” Youssef said.

The ministry stated that the government is working in partnership with the private sector to increase investments in the targeted sectors and to attract more FDI. 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.

National Investment Strategy

The ministry informed that one of the most important initiatives started by the government is the unified national investment strategy, which aims at setting an integrated strategy for investment in the sultanate unifying all investment efforts.

‘In this context, an international company has been contracted to work on developing strategies to attract FDI, and on new promotional mechanisms in other countries for the targeted sectors in Oman,’ stated MoCIIP.

National Negotiation Team

The National Negotiation Team is a unified body that represents the government of the sultanate in negotiations related to high economic value, with an aim to shortening and unifying the negotiation process.

The team relies on a matrix that was built internally in accordance with several criteria, including the compatibility of the project with the strategic investment direction of the sector, the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, the economic impact, the realities of the project and the local content.

Fast Track Initiative

The Fast Track Initiative aims at supporting investment projects facing challenges in their implementations. The projects are assessed and the reasons for obstruction reviewed, to take quick and effective decisions ensuring the continuity of business implementation. The first phase of the initiative targeted 39 investment projects, where 27 investment projects were green lighted for implementation with a total value of US$2.779bn.

The number of investors, who have obtained investor residency from the beginning of the programme till January 1 this year, has reached 1,219.