Oman - Market Opportunities Oman - Market Opportunities
Oman offers political stability, physical security, and a predictable investment climate. Respect for free markets, property rights, and rule of law is wide spread. Residents have access to good health care and schools, and easy logistical access to global markets through a modern infrastructure network. Oman has a strategic location outside the Strait of Hormuz and is at the crossroads of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The FTA bestows significant benefits for U.S. businesses and investors. American companies may register as an Omani firm with 100 percent American ownership, and there is no requirement for local ownership or partners. Virtually all U.S.-origin products enjoy duty free access, and Oman has phased out nearly all tariffs on the remaining handful of products.
The 9th Five-Year Plan for the Sultanate, which is the most recent in the series of Five-Year Plans, aims to cut non-core expenditure for investment spending on selected key programs and projects. An increased role for the private sector is considered to be the backbone of the plan with an emphasis on public private partnerships (PPPs). Projects identified for PPPs are Oman Rail, Port Sultan Qaboos, Port Khasab, South Batinah Logistics Area, some fisheries projects, Ad Dhahirah Economic Area, and Shinas Port. In addition, the government has established Mining Development Oman (MDO) to carry out both upstream and downstream activities related to mining, and to collaborate with the private sector. The government is also planning to divest stakes in as many as 11 state-owned firms via initial public offerings (IPOs). The government intended to hold IPOs for the firms on various timelines during the course of 2018, but it is not clear whether this effort will remain on schedule.
The 9th Five-Year Plan targeted investments of USD 106 billion, with over half funded from private investments in manufacturing (32.6 percent), services activities (37 percent), and infrastructure (29 percent). The 9th Five-Year Plan also focuses on the development of non-oil sectors such as transportation and logistics, tourism, fisheries, and mining under the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (known by its Arabic name, Tanfeedh). Tanfeedh’s Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU) published its first annual report in 2017, which is available on its website.