Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: The 100 Inspire CEO Forum will begin next Wednesday at Rozna Restaurant and it will be attended by 100 chief executive officers from the various sectors in the Sultanate of Oman.
The forum will be organised jointly by Oman Arab Bank and Alizz Islamic Bank under the direct supervision of Oman International Development and Investment Company (Ominvest). The three organising entities are focused on devising and implementing a common strategy that promotes economic diversification in Oman and targets the economic sectors that can potentially create a sustainable value in light of the recent economic rebounds and ease of the restrictive COVID pandemic measures by the government.
The forum will feature several working papers which will try to draw up a roadmap for a more effective private sector contribution to developing the economy, organisations, community and individuals. Within the current scenarios, the role of the private sector is hugely indispensable to stand hand in hand with the government in its efforts to materialise the visions and focus on the initiative with the long-term benefit.
Nowadays, CEOs are expected to go beyond their respective organisations and adopt shared visions, ideas and opportunities to promote business growth during the upcoming years against the backdrop of the global challenges. This approach can only be attained through innovative insights and by charting new ways that create an added value to the local communities and the economic landscape as a whole.
Commenting on the Inspiring CEOs Forum, Suleiman bin Hamad Al Harthi, CEO-Alizz Islamic Bank said, “Full economic recovery is going to take time. However, there is a growing sense of optimism and persistent efforts are being made toward continuous improvements at the macroeconomic level. We expect the demand for credit to remain high coupled with the stability of liquidity during the current year. When we decided to organize this forum in partnership with Oman Arab Bank under the direct oversight of Oman International Development and Investment Company, this was preceded by a comprehensive assessment of the roles to be undertaken by the private sector in promoting economic growth as seen in some international experiences, in addition to assessing the role of CEOs in this regard.”
“By the beginning of 2022, markets started to regain consumers' trust and the external source of income became the main driver of growth due to the soaring oil and gas prices. Thankfully, the Sultanate is poised to witness an increase in investments. Following the increase in oil prices, Oman Vision 2040 investments are likely to increase by the double which will put the onus on the private sector leading establishments to become a genuine partners to formulate responsive and innovative solutions including, among other things, establishing new economic entities, create employment opportunities, diversify partnerships, enhance cash flows and create sustainable PPPs. Rather than sitting and waiting for the initiatives to come to our doorsteps, we must be proactive and innovate our solutions.”
Al Harthi further elaborated, “The growth witnessed by the Sultanate under the visionary leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in tandem with Oman Vision 2040 will certainly open new windows for growth, enhance the delivery of high-quality services and facilitate the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. This will make for bold government financial remedies and swift economic reforms. Moreover, the government economic reform program “Fiscal Balance Plan” started to bear fruits and raise hopes for economic recovery and growth during this year.”
He concluded, “The three entities – Alizz Islamic Bank, Oman Arab Bank and Ominvest are working tirelessly to support Oman Vision 2040 by aligning our shared strategic areas of interest including growth, customer service, digital transformation, operations and personnel. This will ultimately lead to augmenting the roles and deliverables of the various economic sectors. We are confident that this forum will enable us to think out of the box and take bold decisions in favour of organisational and personal development, or to be prepared for the future at all economic levels and business activities.”
