The Report: Oman 2018

Steps towards economic diversification have continued with a renewed focus and are being rolled out at pace. In late 2016 the government launched Tanfeedh, the National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification, as a core tenet of the country’s ninth-five-year plan. The programme aims to leverage Oman’s strategic location outside the Gulf to spur growth across five key sectors: manufacturing, logistics, tourism, fisheries and mining. These efforts are complemented by the favourable terms of business available in the sultanate’s numerous special economic zones for those wishing to set up in the country, and a new mining law in 2018 is expected to unlock the potential for further foreign involvement in an extensive and largely untapped mineral resource base.