8,957 commercial registrations recorded in third quarter in Oman

Business Saturday 10/December/2016 15:27 PM
By: Times News Service
8,957 commercial registrations recorded in third quarter in Oman

Muscat: Nearly 8,957 commercial registrations were recorded by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) in the third quarter of the current year, compared to 6,378 commercial registrations for the same period of 2015.
The ministry declared that the number of registrations has increased by 40.4 per cent in comparison to the same period of last year due to the facilities offered by the ministry in cooperation with the related parties. The highest number of registrations was of individual merchants of 5,487, followed by limited responsibility companies of 1,407, general partnerships of 913 and limited partnership companies of 584. In addition, there were 420 entries of house businesses, 134 of investment companies, 7 international companies’ branches, 4 entries of Omani closed stock firms and one commercial mandate office entry.
Efforts of private sector
The MoCI emphasised on encouraging and reinforcing the private sector efforts to contribute to promoting the national economy and creating job opportunities for the citizens.
The ministry is eager to support the capacities of commerce and industry by developing and executing the general policies, legislations and studies. The ministry also takes efforts to direct foreign investments according to the strategic plans and focus on the role of economic regions and free markets in reviving the economy. The ministry announced that it is proceeding its transformation into electronic, through “Invest Easy” programme, which is fast and provides better accuracy in exchanging information between related parties.
It also helps them in taking decisions based on high quality information, contributes to solve the problem of the multiplicity of files and improve business environment as a result.
Trade agency entries
The number of trade agencies entered by “Invest Easy”, since establishing the service o June 24, 2016 until the end of November, is 985 service, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The services were entries, renewals, modifications and inquiries. Offering the service through Invest Easy gate aims at facilitating registration for investors and finish their dealings easily.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has asked investors, companies and medium and small company owners to benefit from Invest Easy services, study the market and spot the opportunities to expand their facilities. So that their shares in the market achieve faster growth.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Commerce works on facilitating the measures for investors and entrepreneurs; by transforming all its services into auto-electronic. Finishing the dealings electronically guarantees their rightness and accuracy, it also saves money. In addition, it guarantees a better and effective management, easy access to data and suitable services for proper requestors on time.
180 examining visits
The number of visits to different industrial institutions for inspection in the Sultanate reached 180, since the beginning of January till the end of October of the current year. They aim to correct the status of industrial institutions and urge them to commit to the laws and bylaws of the ministry. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, represented in the Directorate General, declared.
Engineer Ali Bin Saif Al Hady, the secretary of the industrial file in the Industry Directorate in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said that the visits were to industrial institutions and projects in Muscat, Dhofar, Al Buraimi and Al Dakhiliyah governorates. Notes were directed to 41 industrial institutions.
Al Hady indicated that the examinations were done by the industrial follow-up department/ the secretary of the industrial file/ the MoCI, include industrial activities, raw materials and equipment used in production. It also includes checking on the production capacity and project commitment to safety and cleanliness. In addition, urging on hiring national employees; by studying the employment requirements of factories, whether in the initial steps of establishing or through the later expansions.
Approvals
Most of the contraventions were related to safety, cleanliness and order in the factories. Moreover, dissimilarity between factories actual locations and the locations written in industrial registration certificates, the expiry of industrial registrations or licenses, addition of new equipment without license and increase production capacities without notifying the ministry.
He mentioned that the industrial supervision is a basic factor of assuring industrial institutions’ commitment to the laws and organising measures of the industrial sector; in order to improve them and increase their capability.
As a result, improve commerce and develop national economy through cooperation between the private sector and industry-supervision authorities in the state; which continually supervise production lines and examinations, each in their field of specialisation.