Video length: 04:24 VIDEO Construction First phase of Oman’s Sultan Haitham City on track for 2030 Work on Oman’s $2.6 billion Sultan Haitham City housing project is in full swing. Spread over 14.8 million square metres, Sultan Haitham City will have 20,000 residential units distributed across 19 integrated residential neighbourhoods. The project, initiated a couple of years ago, is being developed in four phases. The first phase, featuring close to 7,000 […] April 28, 2025
Aviation Oman Air cuts a quarter of workforce after losses Loss-making national airline Oman Air has let go of at least 900 people – equivalent to almost a quarter of its workforce – after posting yet another loss last year, newspapers including the Times of Oman reported. Of the 900, more than 500 are expatriates and the remaining 400 Omani nationals, Saeed bin Hamoud Al […] April 28, 2025
Renewable Energy Oman to build 400km hydrogen pipeline network Oman’s natural gas network operator OQ Gas Networks (OQGN) is planning to build a dedicated hydrogen pipeline by 2030, in line with a strategy to develop the sultanate’s renewables sector. The funding approval for the 300-400 kilometre project is expected by 2027, Oman Daily Observer reported, citing the majority state-owned company’s 2024 annual report. OQGN […] April 28, 2025
Telecoms Surge in connected devices spurs Omantel revenue growth Omantel, Oman’s largest telecommunications provider, reported a rise in revenue and profitability last year, helped by a strong surge in “Internet of Things” (IoT) subscriptions Revenue at the state-controlled telco rose 4 percent year on year in 2024 to OR920 million ($2.4 billion), driven by strong performance across its business lines. The company recorded significant […] April 25, 2025
Aviation Oman Air posts 2024 loss while airport passenger numbers rise Oman Airports, the company managing Muscat International Airport and three others, posted a 15 percent increase in net income last year on more passenger throughput, a local newspaper reported. At the same time, national carrier Oman Air reported a OR72 million ($187 million) loss, before interest and taxes, for 2024. The airline has made an […] April 25, 2025
Finance Demand grows for Islamic banking in Oman Demand for shariah-compliant Islamic banking services in Oman has rocketed over the past four years despite the dominance of conventional banks. High demand was reflected in a sharp increase in deposits with the Gulf country’s two Islamic banks, the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB) said. Deposits with Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank, the […] April 25, 2025
Energy Duqm refinery fuels $6.5bn growth in Oman’s oil exports Oman’s hydrocarbon exports swelled by nearly $6.5 billion last year due to a surge in sales of refined products following the commissioning of the sultanate’s largest oil refinery. The Gulf country’s hydrocarbon exports surged from OR13.8 billion ($35.8 billion) in 2023 by nearly 18 percent to OR16.3 billion ($42.4 billion) in 2024. Crude exports edged […] April 23, 2025
Finance Oman’s free zones attracted $4bn in investments last year Private businesses invested OR1.6 billion ($4.1 billion) in Oman’s free zones, economic zones and industrial cities last year, highlighting the sultanate’s growing appeal as a regional business hub. The sultanate signed a total of 325 investment agreements across six major jurisdictions, Oman Daily Observer, a local news outlet, reported, citing a report by Duqm Economist […] April 23, 2025
Construction Bangladeshis dominate foreign labour in Oman Nearly 1.8 million foreigners work in Oman and more than a third of them are from Bangladesh, a major source of labour for oil-rich Gulf nations, according to official data. Around 637,000 Bangladeshis work in the sultanate, accounting for nearly 35 percent of the total expatriate labour force, reports the April bulletin of the National […] April 22, 2025
Real Estate Property market in Oman cools Oman’s real estate market slowed in February, as total deal value fell 8 percent year-on-year to OR362 million ($941 million), the state-run Oman News Agency reported. The figure dropped from OR395 million in February 2024, the news agency said, citing data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Despite the overall market cooling, transaction […] April 21, 2025
Trade UAE remains Oman’s primary exporter despite increase from China The UAE maintained its position as the top exporter to nearby Oman last year despite a sharp increase in China’s exports to the sultanate, official figures show. The UAE, the second largest Arab economy and a major centre for re-exports, exported OR4 billion ($10 billion) to Oman in 2024 and accounted for almost a quarter […] April 21, 2025
Finance 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 […] April 21, 2025
Trade Oman in talks with US to review reciprocal tariff Oman is holding talks with the US to review the implications of reciprocal tariffs, according to a news report. “Despite the existing free trade agreement with the US, the new tariffmeasures have included Omani exports,” Oman Daily Observer, a local news outlet, reported, quoting Shaikh Saud Al Nahari, a board member of Oman Chamber of […] April 18, 2025
Renewable Energy Oman to build liquefied hydrogen corridor with Europe Oman has taken another step towards establishing a liquefied hydrogen corridor for exports to Europe with the signing of an official agreement to develop it. The idea was first announced during Cop28 in Dubai in 2023. Developed by Oman’s state-run hydrogen company Hydrom, the Ministry of Energy, UAE-based Ecolog and offtaker EnBW, one of Germany’s largest power […] April 16, 2025
Banking & Finance Bank Muscat’s Q1 profit rises as the sector consolidates First quarter net income at Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest bank by assets, rose 8 percent on higher interest revenue from both conventional and Islamic sharia-compliant activities. The rise comes as rival Sohar International Bank, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, seeks to take over a smaller rival, raising concerns about competition in the Omani banking […] April 15, 2025
Tourism 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, […] April 15, 2025
Renewable Energy 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 […] April 15, 2025
Energy US and Saudi Arabia agree ‘pathway’ to nuclear power deal The US and Saudi Arabia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – are on a “pathway” towards co-developing a civilian nuclear programme for the kingdom, visiting US energy secretary Chris Wright has told reporters. This is the firmest US public statement yet of support for a Saudi nuclear power generating initiative, a topic of long-running […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Oman targets $5bn investment with port expansion Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone is seeking to draw in billions of dollars in additional investment, as the first phase of the project nears full occupancy, according to a media report. The expansion will increase annual throughput to more than 2.5 million tonnes of cargo, over $5 billion in investment and an addition of 500 […] April 14, 2025
Banking & Finance 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 […] April 11, 2025
