Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Wanfang Oman Company and the Chinese Petrochemical Industries Federation to attract Chinese investments on Tuesday.
The Chinese Petrochemical Industries Federation enjoys a wide presence in China, which includes several major companies operating in the petrochemical industry. The MoU will provide opportunities for Chinese companies working in the petrochemical sector to invest in Duqm.
With the signing of the MoU, the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (Sezad) has concluded its promotional campaign "Invest in Duqm," which was organised in three Chinese cities—Yinchuan, Dalian and Shanghai.
The campaign was aimed at introducing the business community in China to the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) and highlight for investors, the strategic location of Duqm in the international trade route and the other incentives and facilities provided by Sezad to the investors, said Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Sezad’s chairman.
In a speech at a seminar held in Shanghai, Al Jabri said SEZD offers promising investment opportunities through a transparent, competitive and sophisticated business environment.
“In addition to the geographical location of SEZD, Sezad offers a number of incentives, including tax exemptions of up to 30 years, removal of restrictions on capital movement, exchange of currencies, distribution of profits, existence of one-stop services for corporate registration, issuance of building permits, environmental permits and licenses for practicing activities, and facilitating procedures for issuing work permits for foreign manpower,” he added.
Oil storage
The Oman Oil Company (OOC) informed business people in Shanghai about its oil storage capabilities and plans to set up an oil storage terminal in Ras Markaz.
Said bin Homoud Al Mawali, general manager of the Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTC), in a presentation reviewed the projects carried out by OOC in SEZD and highlighted the strategic location that the Ras Markaz oil storage terminal enjoys off the Indian Ocean.
The Ras Markaz oil storage terminal is a vital project to store all types of crude oil in large quantities outside the Strait of Hormuz and the terminal is the largest project of its kind in the Middle East.
OOC is looking to make the terminal a global hub for crude oil storage and the expected investments for the first stage are pegged at about $1.7 billion with a capacity of about 26 million barrels.
Al Mawali also discussed the project of supplying gas to Duqm to the factories that will be established in SEZD and also highlighted the Duqm Refinery, which will be set up by OOC in cooperation with Kuwait Petroleum International.
Presentations
During the seminar, Reggy Vermeulen, chief executive officer of Duqm Port, stressed the importance of the port as a multi-purpose port with the necessary capabilities to become a pivotal port in the world trade movement.
Ali Shah, chairman, Wanfang Oman Company, reviewed the projects to be established by the company, which is supported by the Ningxia Region, stressing that the Sino-Omani Industrial City in Duqm welcomes the investment of Chinese enterprises.
In other presentations, Jalal Al Lawati, director of Promotions, Sezad, reviewed Sezad’s advantages and the facilities it provides to investors, while Nasr bin Zaher Al Hadhrami, promotion and investment executive, the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (Ithraa) highlighted about the scope of investment in the Sultanate.
The seminar witnessed extensive discussions on the financing of projects and the possibilities of SEZD to enhance the logistics and services provided by Sezad to investors. It also touched upon investing in the oil and petrochemical industries, the procedures of Chinese investors obtaining work visas in the Sultanate and the facilities provided in this framework
