Attracting investment a key goal of APSR’s new five-year strategy
Published: 04:07 PM,Jul 16,2021 | EDITED : 09:07 PM,Jul 16,2021
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A strategic five-year plan formulated by the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) for the 2021 – 2025 timeframe envisions, among other objectives, a goal to strongly position the sectors under its remit -- power, related water, wastewater and gas transportation -- for local and foreign investment.
The 2021-2025 strategic plan identifies three key objectives: Shaping the environment in which it operates; Driving efficient, accessible and high quality public services and working towards sustainability; and Attracting Investment.
“It is crucial from our point of view to get participation from private sectors and to attract foreign investors from all over the world to assist the development of sectors being regulated,” said the Authority.
“We aim through our strategy to attract more investments through privatisation and investment opportunities that enhance the positioning of the regulated sectors as investment destinations in the region and globally.
'Such strategic objectives will positively impact job creation and Omanisation through transfer of knowledge and high quality on-the-job training. It will also help in creating opportunities for the SME sector to support more and more investments being established in the Sultanate,” it stated in its 2020 Annual Report, published here recently.
According to Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy, Minister of Energy and Minerals, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of APSR, the 5-Year Strategic Plan closely aligns with the broader goals of the Omani government’s Vision 2040 developmental strategy.
“As the government stresses the importance of working towards achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040 with full determination, specifically to achieve the objectives of economic diversification and to overcome the economic implications, the Authority has developed its strategic plans aligning it with the Oman Vision 2040 and the 10th Five Year Plan that emanates from it.”
Commenting on the Authority’s performance during the past year, Dr Mansoon Talib al Hinai, Chairman of APSR, also affirmed its continuous commitment to efficiency and service standards, as well as supporting investment inflows.
“It is a year (2020) that has witnessed lots of challenges that required setting a strategy for the Authority that enables the development of regulated sectors and enhancement of efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of services. It comes on top of our priorities to enhance Omanisation levels and offer more opportunities for SMEs and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he noted.
Following a pair of Royal Decrees issued last year, the regulator was renamed as the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR), while its remit was enlarged from its longstanding focus on electricity and related water services (ERWS) to include regulation of wastewater services and gas transportation as well – a move that brings its overall mission into line with that of its peers in advanced countries of the world.
A strategic five-year plan formulated by the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) for the 2021 – 2025 timeframe envisions, among other objectives, a goal to strongly position the sectors under its remit -- power, related water, wastewater and gas transportation -- for local and foreign investment.
The 2021-2025 strategic plan identifies three key objectives: Shaping the environment in which it operates; Driving efficient, accessible and high quality public services and working towards sustainability; and Attracting Investment.
“It is crucial from our point of view to get participation from private sectors and to attract foreign investors from all over the world to assist the development of sectors being regulated,” said the Authority.
“We aim through our strategy to attract more investments through privatisation and investment opportunities that enhance the positioning of the regulated sectors as investment destinations in the region and globally.
'Such strategic objectives will positively impact job creation and Omanisation through transfer of knowledge and high quality on-the-job training. It will also help in creating opportunities for the SME sector to support more and more investments being established in the Sultanate,” it stated in its 2020 Annual Report, published here recently.
According to Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy, Minister of Energy and Minerals, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of APSR, the 5-Year Strategic Plan closely aligns with the broader goals of the Omani government’s Vision 2040 developmental strategy.
“As the government stresses the importance of working towards achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040 with full determination, specifically to achieve the objectives of economic diversification and to overcome the economic implications, the Authority has developed its strategic plans aligning it with the Oman Vision 2040 and the 10th Five Year Plan that emanates from it.”
Commenting on the Authority’s performance during the past year, Dr Mansoon Talib al Hinai, Chairman of APSR, also affirmed its continuous commitment to efficiency and service standards, as well as supporting investment inflows.
“It is a year (2020) that has witnessed lots of challenges that required setting a strategy for the Authority that enables the development of regulated sectors and enhancement of efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of services. It comes on top of our priorities to enhance Omanisation levels and offer more opportunities for SMEs and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he noted.
Following a pair of Royal Decrees issued last year, the regulator was renamed as the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR), while its remit was enlarged from its longstanding focus on electricity and related water services (ERWS) to include regulation of wastewater services and gas transportation as well – a move that brings its overall mission into line with that of its peers in advanced countries of the world.