Oman’s economy benefits from large oil and gas reserves, including a sizeable new gas field that began production in late 2017. Located between Asia and Africa – and adjacent to major international shipping routes – the sultanate’s geographic location also makes it a natural regional logistics and manufacturing hub. The authorities are seeking...
From the late 1990s until 2014 Oman’s fiscal balance had consistently remained in positive territory, according to IMF figures, with the sole exception of a small deficit of 0.3% of GDP registered in 2009. However, amid a decline in international oil prices towards the end of 2014, public finances moved into the red for the year, to the tune...
The number of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operating in the GCC has grown significantly in the last decade. The value of these SWFs – created to invest and manage the huge sums flowing into the region from hydrocarbons sales – stood at $2.9trn in December 2017, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), or 38.3% of the global...
For the nations of the GCC, the drop in oil prices highlighted something many already knew: there is a pressing need for economic diversification and to further engage with global partners across different markets. To this end, countries in the region have made efforts to expand their international role and reach in recent years, with trade...
At the beginning of 2017 Dubai’s residential real estate market appeared to be in the early stages of an upswing, in large part because of a surge in off-plan sales. While off-plan sales in the emirate increased by 45% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in the first three months of the year, according to UK-based property firm Chestertons, momentum...
Direct participation in Dubai’s large and very active commercial real estate market has long been a challenge for international investors operating in the emirate. Non-UAE nationals are allowed to own or hold property only within the confines of one of a growing number of free zones in the emirate, and then primarily only residential real...
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