Developments in Oman’s telecoms sector in 2017 were centred on the announcement of a third mobile network operator licence and an increase in royalty rates from January 1, which led to a 35-40% drop in net profits that year for the two existing operators, Omantel and Ooredoo. With market penetration in the mobile sector at close to 150%, the sultanate’s third licence is expected to...
Targeted investment has seen Oman’s agriculture and fisheries sector make advances as the government seeks ways to sustain a growing population and foster a more diverse economy. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, in 2016 production rose by 4.3% for agriculture and 8.7% for fisheries to 1.87m and 280,000 tonnes, respectively. Production is estimated to increase further...
Bolstered by steady investment from a government cognisant of its potential, Oman’s transport and logistics sector has continued to expand even as the impact of lower oil prices continues to be felt. The sector’s real growth rate registered at 1.1% in 2015 after rising 9.4% in 2014, giving it a value of OR1.7bn ($4.4bn), according to the latest available figures from Central Bank of Oman. It...
Oman boasts an extensive and largely untapped mineral resource base that includes large deposits of metallic minerals, such as copper and chromite, and industrial minerals, namely limestone and marble. The country is the first GCC producer and exporter of ferrochrome, and produces large quantities of non-metallic minerals, including limestone, gypsum and marble, that support construction and...
Growth in Oman’s industrial and retail sectors has been affected by both commodity prices and weaker consumer sentiment, which have lowered spending and forced some companies in heavy industry to delay investment programmes. However, the impact of the costs borne by the sultanate’s manufacturers was offset somewhat in 2017 by the rise in exports to Qatar following the blockade of that country’...
Market pressures have continued to weigh on Oman’s real estate sector since oil prices fell from their historic highs, driving the sultanate to adjust to lower revenue by trimming budgets and paring back some investment. Growth in public payrolls and jobs – a key driver of real estate demand – slowed in 2016 as the government reduced spending by 7.5% to tackle a fiscal deficit surpassing 20%...
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