Oman Offers 36 Investment Opportunities for $4 Bn

The Omani Investment Authority (OIA) offers investment opportunities covering several sectors in the Sultanate (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Omani Investment Authority (OIA) offers investment opportunities covering several sectors in the Sultanate (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Oman Offers 36 Investment Opportunities for $4 Bn

The Omani Investment Authority (OIA) offers investment opportunities covering several sectors in the Sultanate (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Omani Investment Authority (OIA) offers investment opportunities covering several sectors in the Sultanate (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Oman Investment Authority (OIA) announced 36 investment opportunities worth about $4 billion and covering various industries.

OIA’s Director General of Economic Diversification, Hisham bin Ahmed al-Sheedi, said these investment opportunities would potentially ensure better alignment and synergy between OIA and other government and private entities.

Sheedi noted that the opportunities are distributed across vital investment sectors, including technology, utilities (electricity), tourism, fisheries, food, mining, and health.

In an interview published in OIA’s first quarter 2023 newsletter, “Injaz & Ijaz,” Sheedi pointed out that the investments on offer were just an initial list likely to increase based on the current and future viability studies.

He noted that specialists in the lounge would explain investment opportunities to the investor as a first step.

The list features numerous IT projects such as programming, engineering solutions, blockchains, and tourism projects, including the 3rd phase of Yiti and Yankit Sustainable City, a multi-facility entertainment destination in Barka and a Logistic Gate project at the Economic Free Zone within Muscat International Airport.

The list also includes several food security and fisheries projects, including fish and shrimp farming, fattening tuna in large floating cages, three factories for canning and packaging marine products, and fish feed production.

The list contains mining projects such as industrial minerals, copper, magnesium, and silicon.



Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
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Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged on Friday Hezbollah to engage with the Lebanese army and devise a plan to dismantle its military infrastructure south and north of the Litani river.

In a press conference Friday, Geagea criticized Hezbollah for opening a front with Israel and accused the Shiite group of committing a “major crime” against the Lebanese people.

“We could have done without the martyrdom of more than 4,000 people, the displacement of thousands and the destruction across the country,” he said. “Despite all these tragedies, Hezbollah continues to talk about a victory using a bizarre and disconnected logic that has no basis in reality.”

Geagea’s comments came two days after a US-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect. More than 3,900 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel's conflict with Hezbollah escalated.

Geagea, whose Lebanese Forces Party holds the largest bloc in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament, also addressed Lebanon’s presidential deadlock. The country has been without a president for more than two years.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a session for presidential elections in January. "Consultations with opposition factions and our allies will begin in the coming days to explore the possibility of agreeing on presidential candidates and bringing them to parliament,” Geagea said.