His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has graciously given Royal directives to boost the business sector a few days ago, which succinctly reflect attention that marks His Majesty's royalty and high-nobility with regard to consideration of what businesses need and want at this point of time.
There is no marvel that the world has been hardly hit by covid-19, causing great confusion and disorder. The world has become filled with surprise, wonder and amazed curiosity and people were astonished and perplexed at the magnitude of the covid-19 devastation that reduced daily life activities to chaos, disorder and helplessness.
Our memory is still vivid with covid-19 'main shock', involving risk to life of millions of people around the world. But the 'minor shocks', of this distressing event, that followed have also been very great in size, amount, degree and intensity, extending over a vast scope of daily life activities without specified limits from side to side. Businesses of various natures have become powerless and ineffective. Certain economic sectors were the first to endure covid-19 havoc, but its effect has swiftly and indiscriminately spread to all sectors.
However, the economy of the Sultanate of Oman has been able to stand up with firm determination against the downward turns caused by covid-19 especially toward a decline in business and economic activity, through HM the Sultan's wise policy which has been marked with thrifty and efficient use of material resources as well as with frugality in and careful management of expenditures.
Oman, thanks to His Majesty the Sultan's farsighted vision, has been able to pay more than $4 billion debts, a fact that affirms not only its keenness and determination to fulfil obligations and commitment to pay to its creditors, but also reflects an assured reliance on the country's ability and strength to tackle, in a direct and effective way, such matters with hard unbending will.
The latest Royal directives, by HM the Sultan, are intended as an authoritative order to give a boost to a sector that is markedly lacking in strength as a consequence and effect of covid-19. This move, undoubtedly, will not only enhance the business sector vigor and position locally, but also its overall quality and character as seen or judged regionally and internationally.
As per the Royal directives, the limit of loan ceiling granted by Oman Development Bank, an establishment the provides loans at lower interest rates to facilitate development projects in Oman, has been raised up to RO 5 million, especially for those projects that would add a value and promote the growth of development (tanimya) in Oman.
The list of commercial activities financed by ODB has also been raised by furnishing necessary funds for projects which are especially carried out outside the Governorate of Muscat, with the aim to make development generally and widely spreading out to all parts of the country.
The measures currently taken by Oman are meant to give confidence not only to local businesses but also to foreign investment in the country, by proving that Oman remains, at all times, unvarying, steady in its policy and firm in resolution. This is due in part to the geographical location of Oman, but to a larger extent due to stability that the country enjoys under the wise leadership of His Majesty the Sultan.
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