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Saleh Al-Shaibany

Journalist

Saleh Al-Shaibany is a journalist and publisher in Oman who runs AlSafa Press & Publishing

Saleh Al-Shaibany
Mutrah Souq in Muscat. Observers says commercial properties in Oman are providing lower returns

Commercial oversupply may explain drop in Oman property sales

Oversupply in commercial properties may underpin a decline in the value of real estate transactions in Oman in the first quarter, according to one real estate agent. The value of real estate transactions in the country declined by 2.5 percent to OR573 million ($1.5 billion) in the three months to March 31, compared with the […]

OQ executives signed the agreements during the Oman Sustainable Week 2025 Exhibition in Muscat

Oman Centre for Net Zero signs agreements worth $2bn

Oman’s energy major OQ has formed a new company called Oman Centre for Net Zero and signed 13 separate renewable-energy agreements worth $2 billion. The agreements were signed during the three-day events of Oman Sustainable Week 2025 Exhibition in Muscat by OQ Group’s CEO Ashra al Mamari and Najla al Jamali, CEO of OQ Alternative […]

Strategically located near the UAE, Oman's Shinas Port is undergoing significant expansion to enhance its re-export capabilities and container connectivity

Oman invests $200m in port to bolster re-export business

Oman is expanding one of its smallest ports located in the northern town of Shinas, in an attempt to bolster the sultanate’s re-export business and container connectivity. The project, which is expected to start in the third quarter of this year, will increase its area by 40 percent to 1.8 million square metres, according to […]

Profit at Sohar fell on the back of lower operating income

Profit falls as staffing costs rise at Oman’s Sohar bank

Sohar International Bank, Oman’s second-biggest bank by assets, reported a decline in first-quarter profit on lower net interest income and higher staffing costs. The bank registered a net profit of OR21.5 million ($56 million) in the three months to March 31, a decline of 15 percent over the same period last year.  “Compared to the […]

Abraj Energy Services is expanding its operations in Oman's growing energy landscape with the BP contract

Oman’s Abraj gets $32m BP gas drilling contract

BP Exploration has awarded Abraj Energy Services a $32 million contract to drill for gas in Oman’s Khazzan field, reinforcing the sultanate’s upstream ambitions amid continued investment in its energy sector. The three-year contract, disclosed in a filing to the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), covers drilling operations on Block 61, a tight gas project in […]

HTX2YD A pair of local Omani men walk along Muttrah corniche in the evening, in Muscat, Oman

Oil profit fall at Oman’s OQ suggests bigger decline in Q2

Oman’s state-owned energy group OQ, which produces about a quarter of the country’s oil, reported a decline in first-quarter profit on the back of a fall in the price of crude. Net profit in the three months to March 31 fell 9 percent to $194 million over the same period last year, the company said […]

Jetour T1 at the Auto Shanghai show in China. The carmaker is planning a facility in Dubai

China’s Jetour plans carmaking facility in Dubai

Chinese carmaker Jetour plans to start a manufacturing unit in Dubai as a springboard to supplying the UAE and the rest of the Gulf, its head of international operations told AGBI. “The GCC is the richest region in the world, and we obviously want to take it by the storm and be the No 1 […]

Migrant workers repairing a road in Muscat, Oman. Unemployment among Omanis under 24 was at 14% in 2023, with the majority being women

Oman steps up efforts to curb rising unemployment

The IMF may laud Oman for cutting its debt and bringing its budget deficit under control but unemployment in the Gulf’s third most populous country is growing, posing a policy challenge to the government. In January, the month for which the latest data is available, unemployment rose to 3.6 percent, compared with 3.3 percent the month […]

People walk through Muscat, Oman. Domestic demand for Omani sovereign debt is high as alternative investment options are limited treasury bills

Oman’s $83m treasury bonds snapped up by investors

Yield hungry investors have snapped up OR32 million ($83 million) in short-term Omani treasury bills. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) auctioned the six-month T-bills on Wednesday offering a coupon of 5 percent. The CBO said the offer was oversubscribed by more than 10 times.  Analysts said the rates on offer through the treasury bills […]

Unexpected high oil prices allowed Oman to overcome its predicted budget deficit

Higher oil prices wipe out Oman’s 2024 budget deficit

Higher-than-budgeted oil prices wiped out Oman’s OR640 million ($1.7 billion) deficit for 2024, according to the finance minister, although the IMF has warned that the Gulf state still faces economic challenges.  Oman posted a surplus of $1.4 billion last year as it sold oil at an average price of $82 per barrel, a third higher […]

China is exporting ceramic tiles at cheap cost following tariffs imposed by the US

Oman’s tile law could set pattern for the GCC

Oman plans to implement anti-dumping measures on ceramic tile imports from China and India, saying the materials that are widely used in the building industry are being sold at below-cost prices. This comes amid a global debate around the impact of increased US import tariffs on China, the world’s biggest manufacturer, and whether the tax […]

Oman wants to increase the value of its logistics sector to more than $90 billion

Oman to invest $260m in logistics to spur growth

Oman is expanding its logistics sector with a series of projects this year worth $260 million to improve its facilities and spur growth in the GCC’s second-smallest economy by GDP. The government-led plan was made public this week to mark Oman 2025 Logistics Day. The investment will mainly go into developing free trade zones, airports […]

Oman and China are partnering on a significant solar project supporting Oman's objective of creating a pollution-free environment

Chinese company to build solar plant in Oman freezone

Oman has signed a deal with a Chinese company to develop a sizeable solar power plant in the north of the country. It is the latest in a series of green energy initiatives as the sultanate aims to diversify from fossil fuels and power green hydrogen ambitions.  The $564 million solar farm will be wholly […]

The IFC said it agreed the loans to Oman 'to bolster the country’s sustainable finance market and empower the private sector'

World Bank loans Oman $310m for economic diversification

Loans totalling $310 million to support Oman’s economic diversification plans have been agreed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of the World Bank Group that seeks to encourage private sector development in less developed markets. The loans, arranged by the Omani Ministry of Finance, are to support three Omani companies, with a particular […]

A girl holds her umbrella as she stands at Mughsail blowholes next to Marneef cave,near the city of Salalah which serves as an oasis for visitors who can explore the city’s cool climate and lush green landscapes, in Dhofar governorate, Oman August 5, 2024. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana

Second resort city planned for Salalah in Oman

Oman has approved a second major resort in Salalah on the Indian Ocean in the south of the sultanate in an effort to attract more tourists as part of the country’s economic diversification programme. The $100 million, 470,000 square metre project has been named Boulevard Razaz and will include canals, landscaped gardens, a shopping mall, […]

China is to build wind turbines in Oman

Chinese company to build $200m wind turbine plant in Oman

China’s Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group has signed a $200 million agreement to build a wind turbine factory in Oman’s central industrial city of Duqm. Duqm, which sits on international shipping routes, has attracted over $15 billion in project spending, including a 230,000 barrels per day oil refinery, a crude oil storage facility, a free […]

A customer uses a Bank Muscat ATM. Banks in Oman recorded a 15 percent rise in profits in 2024

Takeover raises Oman bank competition concerns

Oman’s second-largest lender by assets, Sohar International Bank, has secured approval from a smaller rival, Ahli Bank, for it to acquire Ahli. The takeover comes as concerns are raised that consolidation in the country’s banking sector could limit choice and competition, and raise costs for customers. Ahli Bank, which was set up in 2007, said […]

Customers use an ATM outside a Bank Sohar branch in Muscat

Oman’s Sohar International Bank targets rival Ahli

Sohar International Bank, Oman’s second-biggest bank by assets, has expressed an interest in buying smaller rival Ahli Bank as it seeks to compete with its bigger competitor, Bank Muscat, and others. Sohar International has sent a letter of intent to Ahli, one of the smaller banks in the country. Ahli, which was set up in 2007, […]

Observers say property is becoming more affordable in Oman

Oman mortgages surged last year on falling property prices

The value of mortgage transactions in Oman surged by almost half last year as declining property prices and marginally lower interest rates pulled in first time and other buyers, including from the UAE and around the Gulf. The total value of mortgages – from a total of 20,680 agreements – rose 46 percent to OR […]

Containers being loaded at Oman's Salalah port. Total exports to the US reached $1.2bn last year, 11 percent lower than in 2023

Oman says US tariffs will have limited effect on trade

New import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration will have a minimum effect on Oman’s economy, a senior official said.  “The US tariffs apply only for our non-energy products and not to our crude oil, gas and refined oil, so there will be limited impact on our finances,” Dr Nasser Al Maawali, the Undersecretary […]

Officials at Muscat Airport said they were stretched as passengers flew to Dubai during the last days of the holy fasting month

Thai earthquake increases Omani Eid bookings to Dubai

The earthquake which has devastated parts of southeast Asia has forced many Eid holiday makers from Oman to divert from flying to Thailand and to choose Dubai instead as is a preferred destination. Travel agents in Oman have seen a surge of bookings to Dubai with most of them leaving by air. “In last year’s […]

OQBI began trading on the Muscat Security Market in December

Profits at Oman-listed OQBI surged in 2024

Oman’s state-controlled OQ Base Industries (OQBI) has reported that net profits for 2024 increased by 38 percent to $81 million, up from $25 million a year earlier.  OQBI, which produces methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is the downstream arm of state-owned OQ. It started trading on the Muscat Security Market (MSM) on December […]