Road to Dhofar enters busiest season amid upgrade works
SALALAH, JUNE 20 As Dhofar prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors during the Khareef season, Oman’s most important north-south road corridor is undergoing one of the largest...
The ranking is progress. But do Omanis feel it?
A global ranking is announced in Geneva. Its real meaning is tested in Muscat, Salalah, Suhar, Nizwa, Al Duqm — anywhere a citizen waits for a service, a graduate looks for work, or a small business...
SPF clarifies death pension rules for eligible beneficiaries
Muscat: The Social Protection Fund has clarified the categories and conditions governing entitlement to death pension benefits, including specific cases in which a grandfather or grandmother may be...
The question Oman has been asking for 40 years
A newspaper archive can sometimes tell us more about the future than the past. Recently, I came across a report published more than four decades ago discussing Omanisation in the banking sector. The...
Gas deal emerges as key test of OMIFCO’s IPO story
Muscat: As Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) prepares to open its initial public offering to investors, one of the most important elements behind the company’s profitability lies outside the...
CEPA: Why India is betting on Oman
MUSCAT, JUNE 8 As the Oman–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) enters its first week of implementation, an interesting trend is emerging across Indian policy and business...
OCCI and the value of membership
For many small businesses, chamber membership can feel less like a source of value and more like an annual obligation. That perception should concern the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, not...
Oman’s safety net faces the test of impact
Oman has built a wider social safety net. The harder task now is to prove that it can reduce vulnerability, not merely record it. That should be the next measure of the country’s social protection...
As global trade fragments, Oman’s long logistics bet gains relevance
MUSCAT, JUNE 2 For decades, global trade was built around a simple formula: maximise efficiency, minimise costs and concentrate activity through a limited number of major hubs. That model is now being...
Oman shifts to demand-led investment with guaranteed-offtake projects
MUSCAT, JUNE 1 Oman is seeking to redefine how industrial projects are developed and financed by introducing investment opportunities backed by guaranteed offtake agreements, a move aimed at reducing...
Why economic communication must move beyond visibility
A polished video can fill a screen in 15 seconds. It cannot tell an investor when a project will reach financial close, how much capital has actually been committed, how many Omani jobs will...
Food security depends on seamless logistics
SALALAH, MAY 28 Oman’s food-security debate must move beyond production figures and import volumes to focus more sharply on how food is transported, stored and distributed, a local expert has...
Najd returns to forefront of Oman’s food security strategy
SALALAH: As global concerns grow over food security, water scarcity and supply-chain disruptions, the Najd region in Dhofar Governorate is returning to the forefront of strategic discussion in the...
Oman’s food security system tested by regional tensions
SALALAH: Regional tensions and disruptions to shipping routes have exposed the fragility of Gulf food supply chains, but Oman has so far maintained stable food availability through strategic reserves,...
Oman banks face trust test as AI reshapes financial services
MUSCAT, MAY 23 Oman’s banks must move beyond digital transformation and build trusted, AI-enabled financial ecosystems as technology reshapes competition, customer behaviour and the delivery of...
From food projects toreal production system
Oman’s decision to establish the Omani Livestock Association may appear, at first glance, to be a routine administrative step. It is not. The timing reflects a much larger shift taking place inside...
Raysut Cement back in profit, but flags gas dues
MUSCAT, MAY 22 Raysut Cement Company SAOG returned to profitability in the first quarter of 2026 after a prolonged period of financial strain, but warned that significant gas-related liabilities and...
MSX pullback tests market depth after strong rally
MUSCAT: A sharp pullback on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) has put market depth, liquidity and investor confidence back under scrutiny, even as Oman’s broader fiscal and economic indicators...
Oman’s AI race moves from appsto infrastructure
MUSCAT, MAY 19 Oman’s next phase of artificial intelligence growth will depend less on applications and more on the infrastructure needed to host, secure and scale them locally, a senior Otech...