Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Muscat: With an aim to attract foreign investment and to further enhance the legislative framework to put Oman on the global map as one of the most lucrative destinations for trade and investment, some new reform measures have been undertaken.
Continuing on the path to further boost the economy and to enhance economic diversification of sectors in line with Oman Vision 2040, a new bylaw was promulgated on Sunday.
The Ministerial Decision No. 574/2022 on Bylaw on Regulating Offices for Endorsement of Foreign Investors’ Applications was issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP).
The bylaw seeks to establish an investment-attractive climate by facilitating procedures for approvals, permits and licences for investment projects, bearing in mind all security, legal, social and economic dimensions. It also aims to attract quality investments that contribute to the growth of the domestic products, besides creating employment opportunities.
As many as 18,726 applications for investment licences were submitted via the InvestEasy portal between 17 November 2021 and 9 November 2022, according to the Ministry.
The Ministry’s Investment Services Centre will draft the pertinent regulations and forward them to the Minister.
According to the Bylaw, applicants for investment licences are required to take the form of an Omani firm, in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Companies Law. The applicants should have professional competence, good reputation, specialised human resources having not less than 5 years of experience and capable of interacting with full competence in a foreign language. The applicants should have financial solvency necessary to practice the profession of accreditation offices.
According to the Ministry, the period of licence is three years, renewable for similar durations, provided that the renewal application is submitted in the form prepared for this not later than 60 days prior to the expiry of the licence period.
In the event of the licence application or the licence renewal application not fulfilling the conditions and requirements stipulated in the regulations of the foreign investor’s endorsement offices, the Investment Services Centre shall notify the applicants about the missing parts in their applications. It will grant them a grace period of not more than 30 days from the date of the notification to complete the formalities.
The Centre shall also examine the licence applications and clear them within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of meeting all conditions and requirements stipulated in the regulations of the Bylaw. Once the set period elapses without comment, the applications will be deemed appropriate and accepted.
