The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, in cooperation with the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Muscat, hosted the Oman-British Investment Forum on Monday, October 17, 2022, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, in the presence of Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Sir Alan Duncan, Board Member of the Anglo-Omani Society (AOS), and Bill Murray, Ambassador of the United Kingdom in the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to a number of business leaders from the two countries.
The forum aims to promote the Sultanate of Oman as a global destination with potential for investment in a number of promising sectors, as well as to showcase investment opportunities in Oman.
In opening remarks, Al Yousef indicated that the ministry seeks to attract quality investments to the Sultanate of Oman, stressing that the economic stimulus plan is based on five main axes, namely, incentives related to taxes and fees, incentives that improve the business environment and investment, incentives to support small and medium enterprises, and incentives for the market. These measures are aimed at supporting economic recovery efforts, enhancing the performance of economic activities and attracting foreign investments, he said.
The UK is currently the largest investment partner of the Sultanate of Oman, said Al Yousef, not that the partnership has expanded in recent years to include several sectors, most notably oil and gas, technology, infrastructure, defense, and education.
He indicated that the National Programme for Investment Promotion and Export Development (Nazdehar) is working on analyzing the investment environment for local and foreign capital, the challenges it faces, and the appropriate mechanisms to improve them, taking into account advanced international experiences.
To this end, an ‘Invest in Oman’ portal has been developed, with a soft opening planned before the end of this year, the Minister said. The electronic gateway will serve as the first point of contact for any investor seeking to invest in the Sultanate of Oman while acquainting them with the investment environment prevalent in the country, incentives, and the industrial cities, as well as free zones and special economic zones distributed across Oman. Each investor will also be assigned an account manager who will assist the investor all the way through the completion of the registration process. Significantly, as many as 14 government agencies whose approvals are required for any investment will be represented on the portal.
Al Yousef added that the ministry seeks to work in integration with its partners to develop a business environment that supports the knowledge economy, enhances trade, industry, and investment, and protects competition through stimulating policies and legislation, and integrated services with the smart government system to achieve sustainable development in the Sultanate.
He added that the main objective of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion is to facilitate the business environment, improve the services provided, support the national industry and Omani products, and enhance exports.
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