A study conducted by the National Centre for Statistics and Information in collaboration with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) revealed that the foreign investment in Oman has grown substantially during the Seventh 5-Year Development Plan (2007-2012) owning to encouraging government policies and conducive investment climate. The study used data collected form private and public sector institutions, but excluded direct government investments and investments in pension funds.
The total amount of money directly invested in the Sultanate in 2011 stood at RO 5.9 billion from 58 countries, 9 of them invested 70 per cent of the total size of money invested in the country. The United Kingdom was the biggest investor in Oman with RO 2.3 billion followed by the UAE which RO 980 million. Total direct and indirect investments in Oman stood at RO 12.7 billion at the end of 2011 as compared with RO 11.5 billion in 2010. Foreign investment in Oman constitutes 46.5 per cent of the total size of investments. The bulk of the US and UK investments was in the oil and gas sector and the UAE invested in the manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Oman's economic outlook for 2013 remains strong but the world body underlined the importance of, among other things, a dynamic private sector and a greater role for SMEs.
Oman Daily Observer
13 June
