Friday 06 / June / 2025
Muscat: Almost half of all Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) received by Oman last year came from the United Kingdom, with more than OMR3 billion flowing into the country. “The UK is the largest investor in Oman, approximately 46 per cent of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with an annual FDI performance at the end of Q4 2016 at OMR 3.182 billion,” outgoing British Ambassador Jonathan Wilks said.
Foreign investors ploughed OMR7.4b into the country in 2016, almost a billion more than in 2015, according to government data.
Last year, the economy witnessed an increase of OMR0.8b in FDI, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Oil and gas exploration activities contributed to 47.9 per cent of the total amount of direct foreign investment, according to the NCSI data.
“Real estate, the rental sector and business projects increased by 8.5 per cent while other sectors increased by 12.8 per cent,” the Ministry of Trade and Industry revealed. For the first nine months of 2016, FDI stood at OMR7.02 billion, according to the NCSI.
The FDI in the manufacturing sector reached OMR986.4 million. Real estate and business activities received OMR622.2 million of foreign investment by the end of the third quarter. Other sectors together reported around OMR999.2 million, the NCSI said.
In 2016, the United Kingdom topped the list of investors in Oman with a foreign direct investment of OMR2.797 billion, followed by the UAE at OMR924.8 million and Kuwait at OMR396.1 million.
The other major countries on the list include Qatar (OMR314.8m), Bahrain (OMR302.6m), and India (OMR298.9m).
“I am delighted the UK remains the top foreign direct investor in Oman. This reflects the attraction of Oman’s stability and investor friendly environment, as well as the historic and current strong relations between the two countries. Oman remains attractive to UK investors in the oil and gas sector as well as in the sectors prioritised for diversification, such as tourism and logistics.
“The UK is particularly committed to the success of Duqm in all its aspects,” he said. UK investors to Oman find the country attractive due to two main reasons, Oman’s stability and because it is a long-standing trading partner of the UK, he added.
UK businesses
“British goods and services are well received in Oman, and British Standards are widely used and accepted. UK businesses continue do well in Oman, particularly in education, hydrocarbons, defence and financial and professional services, though there is plenty of competition from countries expanding their share of the market,” Wilks said.
He added that Oman govt agencies have identified the UK as one of 25 countries with the potential to attract more inward investment into Oman. The UK fits with all of Ithraa’s priority sectors including automotive, ICT, pharmaceuticals, plastics, marine and tourism.
In 2016, oil and gas exploration activities contributed to 47.9 per cent of the total amount of direct foreign investment into Oman, according to data from the NCSI.
“We remain particularly interested in the oil and gas sector – oil and gas exploration was the Omani sector to receive the most FDI in 2016 - OMR 3.5 billion, and UK companies made significant contributions to this figure as a result of major investments from BP and Shell.
“The interest is still there and we expect investments of this nature to continue, particularly with the development of Duqm (refinery and petrochemical complex) and the start-up of operations in the Khazzan gas fields,” he said.
“We also continue to be very interested in defence and security, education, healthcare and financial and professional services sectors – all of which are priority sectors for the Trade Team at the British Embassy. We have been mutually successful when working with Oman in these sectors in recent years, and we hope that trend will continue,” Wilks added.
Stability
Commenting on the UK and Oman relationship, Ahmed Al Hooti, an Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) member, said Oman’s political and economic stability gives UK investors great confidence. “The strength and warmth of the bilateral relationship, and the long trading history, also adds to the attraction as the UK investors consider it very safe to invest in Oman,” he said.
Great opportunity
Odbah Al Harmali, Training Specialist, Oman SME Development Fund, added: “I welcome the UK’s investment into Oman, because this means there are opportunities to not just grow British businesses that want to invest in Oman, but it is also a great opportunity to grow Omani businesses. The UK has always been one of Oman’s biggest investors, and this is very good for Oman in the long-run because it will also lead to creation of more jobs and that’s what the country needs right now.
“Also, UK investment in Duqm is good because it is going to be Oman’s logistical hub for the future, and because of where it is situated on the Arabian Sea, Oman is trying to connect it to the rest of the region, as well South East Asia, Africa, Europe etc, so the investment is sure to help Oman in future.”
