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To encourage industrial investment in Oman, the government has established special economic zones where investors enjoy tax exemptions, trade facilitation, and competitive advantages on imports and Customs duties. There are four such free trade zones – Al Mazunah, Sohar, Salalah and Duqm – each at different stages of development, and all...

Growth in Oman’s industrial and retail sectors has been affected by reduced global oil prices and weaker consumer sentiment, denting spending and forcing some companies in heavy industry to defer growth and investment programmes. However, the impact of the costs borne by the sultanate’s manufacturers was offset somewhat in 2017 by the rise in...

Market pressures that have weighed on Oman’s real estate sector since oil prices fell from their historic highs three years ago continue to affect its performance, and the state has adjusted to lower revenues by trimming budgets and paring back some investments. Growth in public payrolls and jobs – a key driver of real estate demand – slowed...

Four initiatives under way at the Ministry of Housing (MoH) could have a considerable impact on the broader real estate sector over the course of 2018, namely the centralised processing of transactions, passage of new regulations, software to ease information collection and create indices, and an affordable housing programme. “The aim is to...

Many large construction projects in Oman are developed under public-private partnerships (PPPs), whereby a state-linked institution joins forces with a private company or multinational to carry out a project in the common interest.

Faced with public investment cutbacks and a broad economic slowdown in the wake of lower oil prices, Oman’s construction sector continues to grow at a brisk pace, bolstered by state-led diversification efforts, high income levels and relatively low labour costs. The building industry grew by a robust 10.4% in 2016, up markedly on the two...