FDI inflows to Oman touched $822mn in 2015, says Unctad

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23 June 2016
Muscat - Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Oman increased to US$822mn in 2015 from US$739mn in the previous year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

FDI inflows in the sultanate increased by 11 per cent in 2015, remaining, however, well below their pre-crisis annual average of above US$2bn, the UN agency dealing with trade, investment, and development issues said in its World Investment Report 2016 released on Wednesday. FDI inflow in 2015 was 4.8 per cent of Oman's GDP compared to 3.3 per cent of GDP in the previous year.

FDI outflows from Oman, on other hand, sharply fell by 49 per cent to US$855mn in 2015 against US$1.67bn in the previous year.

The UN agency's statistics show the total FDI inward stock in Oman crossed US$20bn in 2015 compared to US$19.2bn a year ago. FDI outward stock, on other hand, jumped to US$7.43bn in 2015 from US$6.6bn in 2014.

According to the report, the value of announced greenfield FDI projects in Oman stood at US$881mn in 2015, sharply lower compared with of US$1.53bn in 2014 and US$2.43bn in 2013. The number of greenfield FDI projects increased to 42 in 2015 from 39 in the previous year.

Unctad said overall global FDI was strong in 2015 and reached its highest level since 2008. Global FDI flows jumped by 38 per cent to US$1.76tn - the highest since the global financial crisis of 2008. However, they still remain some ten per cent short of the 2007 peak.

The agency said FDI inflows to commodity-exporting countries have been strongly and adversely affected due to collapsing commodity prices. "Economies whose exports and FDI inflows rely heavily on oil and metals are in a particularly challenging situation."

Unctad said depressed oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty continued to affect FDI to the Middle East countries with inflows remaining at low levels in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Looking ahead, Unctad said global FDI flows are expected to decline by ten to 15 per cent in 2016, reflecting the fragility of the global economy, persistent weakness of aggregate demand and sluggish growth in some commodity-exporting countries.

Over the medium term, the Unctad projects global FDI flows to resume growth in 2017 and to surpass US$1.8tn in 2018, reflecting an expected pick up in global growth.