عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Oman: FDI Increases by 23.3% in Three Months

Officials during the inauguration of the tourism development project for the village of Al-Soujara in Jebel Akhdar in the Sultanate of Oman. (Twitter)
Officials during the inauguration of the tourism development project for the village of Al-Soujara in Jebel Akhdar in the Sultanate of Oman. (Twitter)
TT
20
TT

Oman: FDI Increases by 23.3% in Three Months

Officials during the inauguration of the tourism development project for the village of Al-Soujara in Jebel Akhdar in the Sultanate of Oman. (Twitter)
Officials during the inauguration of the tourism development project for the village of Al-Soujara in Jebel Akhdar in the Sultanate of Oman. (Twitter)

The volume of foreign direct investments in Oman increased by 23.3 percent to reach OMR 21.27 billion ($55.72 billion) by the end of the first quarter, compared to OMR 17.25 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

According to preliminary data issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information, the oil and gas extraction activities sector acquired the largest volume of foreign direct investment until the end of the first quarter of 2023, with a value of 15.835 billion rials.

Total assets at Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, the Oman Investment Authority, reached 17.9 billion rials ($46.61 billion) in 2022, the fund said in its annual report on Wednesday.

The OIA said its return-on-investment last year was 8.8 percent, and it added that it has contributed more than 5 billion rials to the finance ministry in dividends to support the general budget.

Among its major assets, the OIA wholly owns Oman's main energy holding company OQ, created to centralize the state's oil and gas investments.

OQ’s 2022 revenue was up 68 percent on the previous year, leading to a 100 percent increase in net profit last year, the fund wrote in the report, without providing further financial details.

The OIA said in December it aimed to spend 1.9 billion rials on investment projects in 2023. It has recently partnered with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, to jointly invest in Oman’s economy.

It also signed an MoU with the aim to expand and explore cooperation and investment opportunities by allocating $5 billion for potential Saudi investments in Oman.

Saudi Arabia has intensified its investments in Oman to express support to the Sultanate as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to develop non-oil sectors.

In October, the Public Investment Fund established five regional investment companies with targeted investments of $24 billion as part of a strategy to grow its Assets Under Management and diversify the Kingdom’s revenue sources.

Separately, the final work procedure of the Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Project in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm continues to progress, with the construction work rate exceeding 98 percent.

In addition, the refinery's soft operations progress has reached more than 65 percent, said Oman News Agency on Twitter.

The trial operations also included the export of the first shipments of naphtha through the storage and export berth in the port of Duqm.

Naphtha is one of the main products of the refinery for global markets, which paves the way for the start of exporting other products, such as diesel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and other energy products to regional and global markets.

It is a joint project between Oman and Kuwait. The venture is one of the largest investment projects in the refinery and petrochemical sector between the two Gulf countries.

It will contribute to increasing the refining capacity of the Sultanate by 230,000 barrels per day.

Most Viewed

 
Business

IMF Policy Committee Underscores Trade Risks to Global Economy, Commits to Fund’s Role

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, right, and International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) chair Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan speak during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP)
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, right, and International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) chair Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan speak during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP)
TT
20
TT

IMF Policy Committee Underscores Trade Risks to Global Economy, Commits to Fund’s Role

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, right, and International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) chair Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan speak during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP)
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, right, and International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) chair Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan speak during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP)

International Monetary Fund member countries said on Friday that rising trade tensions were sapping growth and fueling uncertainty as well as market and financial stability risks, but reaffirmed their commitment to the institution as critical to helping countries navigate a difficult environment.

In a chair's statement, the IMF's steering committee also reaffirmed prior foreign exchange commitments and voiced support for a realignment of quotas, or shareholding, that better reflects countries' positions in the global economy.

"The world economy is at a pivotal juncture," the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) said in a statement as the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank drew to a close. "Following several years of rising concerns over trade, trade tensions have abruptly soared, fueling elevated uncertainty, market volatility, and risks to growth and financial stability."

The message comes at the end of a tense week for policymakers and investors anxious about US President Donald Trump's moves to upend global trade and his commitment to international institutions.

The IMF on Tuesday slashed its economic forecasts for the US, China and most countries, citing the impact of US tariffs now at 100-year highs and warning that rising trade strife would further slow growth. It forecast global growth of 2.8% for 2025, down half a percentage point from its January forecast.

Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, who chairs the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), said the Fund must continue to focus on its core mandates, including expanding trade and growth.

"Addressing global debt vulnerabilities remains a priority for our members, especially for low-income and vulnerable countries," Al-Jadaan told a news conference in Washington.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva acknowledged that the raft of current geopolitical flare-ups, especially Trump's push to redesign world trade with a barrage of tariffs, had distracted from discussions about other pressing challenges, including artificial intelligence, in public and behind closed doors.

She said it was encouraging that members had been able to engage in open conversations and share their views "in a fair space," but said she didn't want to minimize the discord.

"I don't want to sugarcoat - we still have quite a challenging time," she said at the news briefing.

Gathering members to talk about Syria had also given a new sense of urgency and purpose to turning a place of conflict into a stable and economically successful country benefiting the region and the world, Al-Jadaan said.

"It is not just about the money, it's about the work that I and other partners can deliver and capacity development, quality data and timely advice."

Al-Jadaan said trade had been the overriding concern during the meetings but he remained optimistic that solutions could be found after a week of candid and frank discussions.

"Actually today, we are holding in a lot better position than when we started the week. People understand the consequences and are working together in a constructive way to resolve tensions," he said.