The Middle East Industry

In common with many of its regional peers, Oman’s current economic strategy is focused on achieving high-value-added growth, characterised by capital-intensive production methods, advanced technology, and scientific research and development. Yet rather than increasing capital intensity, recent IMF statistics appear to show that the economies...

For over two decades Oman’s industrial sector has been a key plank in the government’s economic diversification strategy. During that time efforts have been focused on improving the physical and regulatory infrastructure necessary to attract investment and secure growth, and the results at flagship estates such as Rusayl and Sohar have been...

In addition to the three major port and free zone complexes at Sohar, Duqm and Salalah, a handful of industrial estates and zones are also operating around the sultanate. Aimed at diversifying industry and boosting incomes in governorates beyond the capital regions, these facilities also face some of the same challenges as the larger zones....

Covering some 309,000 sq km and home to landscapes as varied as rugged mountains, long coastlines, rocky deserts, fertile oases and land watered by monsoon rains, Oman is a large and diverse country. Its 4.3m inhabitants also hail from a number of different ethnic and linguistic groups, tribes and nations, with this variety also evident in the...

Despite having different consumer patterns and a less developed domestic retail market than some of its GCC neighbours, the Omani retail sector nonetheless continues to experience stable growth, attracting investment from local and regional developers, as well as interest from leading global brands.