Qatar-based Al Meera Consumer Goods Company signed an MoU on Thursday with National Investment Funds Company (NIFCO) to study plans to set up retail outlets across the sultanate.
Signed by Al Meera deputy CEO Dr Mohammed al Qahtani and NIFCO CEO Rashid al Sa'adi, the deal will meet 'the needs of the market and consumers,' Sa'adi is quoted as saying by the Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The signing ceremony follows reports in December that Al Meera had tied up with French retailers Group Casino and
Retail Arabia to develop and operate supermarkets and hypermarkets under the Geant and Geant Easy brands in Qatar and Oman.
Al Meera currently operates 22 retail outlets in Qatar, posting sales of QR914mn (RO96.6mn) and a profit of QR63.9mn in 2012.
Qahtani stated that the "expansion towards the Omani market is the natural result of the volume and and broad presence achieved by Al Meera in the Omani market," according to the QNA statement.
Sa'adi added that the deal will help to bring 'competitive prices' to the sultanate, as well as help in the creation of more job opportunities for Oman's growing young population.
Signed in the presence of H E Sa'ad al Sa'adi, the Minister for Commerce and Industry, the statement says he affirmed that the co-operation between the two companies will help boost trade and investment as well as helping raise 'joint expertise' between Oman and Qatar.
Owned by the Omani State General Reserve Fund and the Omani civil and military pension funds, NIFCO is one of the sultanate's largest asset management companies, managing the National Equity Fund, among others.
The signing is part of a major push by the Qatari company, with QNA reporting that Al Meera Holding announced it had signed a deal last week with the UK's WH Smith Travel to exclusively establish and operate bookstores under the brand in the emirate.
© Muscat Daily 2012
