Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Oman unveils $5.2bn startup fund and plans for new city

By Pramod Kumar
Oman News Agency
Spread over 14.8 million sq m, Sultan Haitham City will have 20,000 residential units

Oman is planning to set up an investment fund with a capital of OMR2 billion ($5.2 billion) to support economic diversification.

The news was first reported by state-owned Oman News Agency, citing a decree by Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said.

The Oman Future Fund will allocate a percentage of its capital to stimulate the venture investment system in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups registered with Oman’s SMEs Development Authority. 

In addition, the fund aims at enhancing economic activity and encouraging the private sector to enter into partnerships or finance feasible investment projects to drive economic diversification in line with Vision 2040.

Separately, Sultan Haitham announced the construction of a new city on the outskirts of Muscat.

Spread over 14.8 million square metres, Sultan Haitham City will have 20,000 residential units distributed across 19 integrated residential neighbourhoods.

Upon completion, the city will house up to 100,000 residents, and include schools, places of worship, hospitals, a university and shopping centres.

Latest articles

Sainsbury's has the second-largest share of the UK grocery market, at 15 percent, behind Tesco at 28 percent

Qatar to reduce stake in UK supermarket Sainsbury’s

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is selling part of its 15 percent stake in the British supermarket Sainsbury’s as the fund pushes ahead with expansion in the United States and Asia, particularly China and India. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the biggest shareholder in Sainsbury’s, is selling £306 million ($399 million) worth of shares in the retailer, […]

Shoppers in Kuwait's Avenues Mall – the IMF says the country needs to encourage private sector employment

Kuwait needs to push reforms for economic growth, says IMF

Kuwait must accelerate the introduction of fiscal and structural reforms that are needed to increase private sector-led growth and diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. Kuwait’s economy will contract by 3.2 percent this year because of an Opec+ oil production cut, but will grow by 2.8 percent in 2025 […]

Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, (UAE) speaks during the Skybridge Capital SALT New York 2021 conference in New York City, U.S., September 15, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, said 'Malaysia offers substantial opportunity for our exporters, industrialists and business leaders' UAE Malaysia Cepa

UAE and Malaysia sign Cepa to increase bilateral trade

The UAE and Malaysia have signed a free trade deal, bringing the number of deals the Gulf state has agreed with foreign governments to 12. The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) will seek to eliminate or reduce tariffs, lower trade barriers, increase private sector collaboration and create new investment opportunities, the two countries said in a […]

Modern buildings in the city center of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh leads Saudi Arabia’s hot property market

Strong population and employment growth in Riyadh is driving a surge in real estate transactions as new properties cannot come on the market fast enough. A dramatic rise in the number of deals in the 12 months to the end of June was also visible in Jeddah and Dammam, according to a report this week […]