Tourism Surge in Yemeni visitors to Oman The tourism sector in Oman recorded a 5 percent year-on-year increase in visitors to 2 million visits in the first half of 2024, up from 1.9 million visits recorded over the same period in 2023. Visitors from Yemen more than doubled, to just under 108,000, from 52,000 in the first half of 2023, Omani local […] August 14, 2024
Opinion Economy Oman’s planned income tax is an economic gamble High earning expats might be tempted to move to the sultanate's tax-free neighbours August 13, 2024
Opinion Tourism Oman adopts right approach to ambitious tourism targets A focus on more sustainable options differentiates it from the competition August 9, 2024
Trade Oman-China trade value hits $15bn Bilateral trade between Oman and China increased by 8 percent year on year in the first five months of 2024, reaching more than $15 billion, according to local media. Officials said during an Omani-Chinese friendship forum in the southern city of Salalah that the major joint projects with China currently being implemented in Oman are […] August 9, 2024
Logistics Apollo buys 50% interest in Oman maritime terminal Apollo Global Management, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will acquire a 50 percent interest in Vale Oman Distribution Center (VODC) from Brazilian miner Vale for $600 million. The stake was purchased jointly by Apollo-managed affiliates, funds and other long-term investors, the global alternative asset manager said in a statement. NewsletterGet the Best of […] August 8, 2024
Tourism Oman tourism body reports huge profit rise Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran Group), the executive arm of the sultanate responsible for delivering the 2040 National Tourism Strategy objectives, has reported a record performance for 2023. Omran’s net profit amounted to almost OMR32 million ($82 million) last year, a year-on-year increase of 199 percent, the result of “outstanding operational performance” and a renewed […] August 6, 2024
Analysis Renewable Energy Oman’s entrepreneurs hope to turn biofuels into liquid gold A bus powered partly by date kernels launched on the streets of Muscat at the end of 2022. It was a Sultan Qaboos University project, set up as Oman strives to develop sustainable sources of energy. The bus successfully runs on a mix of biodiesel made from the oil extracted from date kernels and conventional […] August 6, 2024
Oil & Gas Swedish company secures $156m for Omani oil blocks The Omani unit of Stockholm-headquartered Tethys Oil has secured funding from a UAE bank for its oil exploration blocks in the sultanate. Tethys Oil Block 3&4 Limited secured a five-year OR60 ($156 million) loan facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to support capital expenditure for blocks 3 and 4 in Oman. The loans drawn under […] August 5, 2024
Oil & Gas European regulator approves Oman’s $1.6bn LNG project The European Commission has approved a $1.6 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Oman’s Sohar Port. The project, which is being jointly developed by Oman energy investment company OQ and France’s TotalEnergies, is unlikely to raise competition concerns due to its limited impact on the European economic area, the Oman Daily Observer reported, quoting […] August 5, 2024
Renewable Energy BP buys 49% of Oman’s green hydrogen project BP, the UK oil and gas company, will acquire a 49 percent stake in Oman’s Hyport Duqm green hydrogen project. The oil major signed an agreement with state-backed energy company OQ and Brussels-listed Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (Deme) on June 13, BP said in its second-quarter 2024 financial statement. The acquisition is subject to […] July 31, 2024
Energy Oman to expand LNG output with new facility Oman is building a new liquefied natural gas facility to expand its natural gas exploration and production. It will be built next to the existing Qalhat LNG complex, with an estimated production capacity of 3.8 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), the state-run Oman News Agency reported. The facility will increase the sultanate’s LNG production […] July 29, 2024
Opinion Tourism Salalah must consider the locals in Oman’s tourist push The city’s one million visitor target seems ambitious in an area with a population of less than 450,000 July 23, 2024
Finance SMEs in Oman to get emergency fund loans The Oman government has set up an emergency fund to support small and medium enterprises after the impact of a tropical cyclone last October. The loan fund is intended to ensure the continued and sustainable operation of SMEs and aid in overcoming any emergency situations, the state-run Oman News Agency reported, quoting the Authority for […] July 22, 2024
Real Estate Al Mazaya reports legal proceedings after alleged fraud The Omani subsidiary of Al Mazaya Holding has uncovered alleged fraudulent activity by employees of the company, estimated at OR242,000 ($628,000). A criminal complaint has been filed by the Kuwait-based real estate development giant against “some of the company’s employees” regarding collections of the sale and rent of some units, according to filings on Boursa […] July 19, 2024
Opinion Renewable Energy Oman is on a steady path to a hydrogen-powered future The sultanate is off to a roaring start – now it needs to stay on course July 17, 2024
Tourism Oman hotel revenues increase more than 10% Hotel revenues across Oman were up by more than 10 percent in the first five months of 2024, fuelled by an increasing number of Asian and European visitors to the sultanate. Three-to-five star hotels reported revenues of OR108 million ($281 million) at the end of May, the latest data from the National Centre for Statistics […] July 16, 2024
Sustainability Amazon fund invests in Omani startup Amazon is among a group of investors backing the Omani CO2 mineralisation startup 44.01 with $37 million in fresh funding. 44.01 won the 2022 Earthshot Prize for its development of a technique that harnesses the natural power of mineralisation in peridotite, a mineral that is found in abundance in the sultanate. NewsletterGet the Best of […] July 15, 2024
Real Estate Omani fund targets commercial assets after IPO Jabal Real Estate Investment Fund has targeted a swathe of commercial assets in Oman after officially listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The company, which has a capital portfolio of OR17 million ($45 million), is considering an office building and a warehousing complex in the sultanate. No further details were given, although both properties boast […] July 11, 2024
Economy Oman’s non-oil trade drives GDP growth in first quarter Non-oil activity in Oman increased by almost 4 percent in the first quarter of the year, helping to prop up a decline in revenues from the sultanate’s energy sector. Oman’s GDP for the first three months of 2024 was up marginally by 0.8 percent year on year to OMR10.45 billion ($27 billion), according to data […] July 8, 2024
Markets Oman’s Asyad Group plans to float shipping subsidiary Asyad Group, Oman’s national logistics company, intends to float its subsidiary, Asyad Shipping, by year-end, according to a media report. The state-backed company has appointed Jefferies Group and EFG Hermes as advisers, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. Details on the initial public offering (IPO) were not given. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your […] July 5, 2024
