18 November 2015
Muscat: Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) plans to broaden the scope of its training despite the decline in oil prices, said an official from the company.

"Our target is to offer training and direct employment to 7,000 every year. For this year, we are on target," Abdul-Amir Al Ajmi, external affairs director at PDO, told Times of Oman at the third edition of the Business Opportunities Forum on Monday.

The company's target for next year is also 7,000, he said, adding, "Despite low oil prices, we are working to expand this 7,000, also even outside oil and gas. We are working with the retail, Duqm, Oman Rail and so on."

Al Ajmi also said that the company is performing well as reflected in the fact that it received an award at the forum for the largest one-off contract with Siemens LLC worth $210 million.

During the forum,PDO boosted Omani job and training opportunities by signing six contracts worth $650 million over the next 10 years.

Diversification

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) told Times of Oman that the government and the private sector should join forces to enhance the country's non-oil revenues through diversification of the economy.

The current situation of the oil market happens every five to 10 years so dependence on oil should be reduced, said RedhaJuma Mohammed Ali Al Saleh, vice chairman for administration and finance affairs at the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI).

SME businesses

Asked if low oil prices have affected the business of small and medium enterprises, Al Saleh said that definitely the whole region will be affected.

"But so far, we are still safe. Still we have not been affected much. The government has taken precautions. The private sector is also trying to participate to help in these circumstances," he noted.

The OCCI official added that the negative impact is expected to be minimised through the ongoing initiatives encouraging tourism, services, logistics, transportation and other sectors.

Tightening credit

Commenting on whether banks are expected to tighten lending conditions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if the current situation persists, Al Saleh said that these businesses have already been experiencing some difficulties securing finance as the banks have not been able to achieve the 5 per cent target.

In 2013, Central Bank of Oman stipulated that commercial banks' loans to SMEs must account for at least 5 per cent of their total loans, in a bid to contribute to the development of the entrepreneurship sector in the country.They have been given an extension until the end of 2015 to meet the target.

The OCCI vice chairman said that banks are looking for security which some SMEs are not able to offer.

However, he noted that Al Raffd Fund is a good initiative by the government which is supporting small and medium business units with lower financial capabilities.

© Times of Oman 2015