Sultanate sees 15 per cent rise in FDI

MUSCAT: The Sultanate saw an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) flow by 15 per cent to RO 9,339.5 million in 2017, from RO 8,096.7 million for the fourth quarter the previous year. Foreign investment flow went up by 15.3 per cent to stand at RO 1,242.8 million. Among various countries, the United Kingdom topped the list of investors in the Sultanate with a foreign direct investment of RO 4,454.5 million in 2017, against RO 3,505.5 million during the previous year, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The UK was followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an investment of RO 1,028.4 million, Kuwait (RO 416.5 million), Qatar (RO 388 million), Bahrain (RO 337.3 million), the United States of America (RO 293.9 million), India (RO 280.6 million) and Switzerland (RO 277.1 million). Further, the flow of foreign direct investment from other countries stood at RO 1,607.7 million in 2017.

Oil and gas sector attracted the maximum foreign investment of RO 5,162.5 million in 2017, against RO 3,978.8 million the previous year, the report shows. The flow of foreign direct investment to the financial sector was at RO 1,415.9 million (against RO 1,436.8 million in 2016), while manufacturing and real estate sectors attracted foreign investment to the tune of RO 1,048.2 million and RO 651.5 million in 2017, against RO 1,050.3 million and RO 618.8 million, respectively, in 2016. — ONA