Foreign direct investment in Oman tops $70bln

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The volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Sultanate of Oman reached OMR27.13 billion by the end of 2022 compared to OMR25.08 billion compared to the corresponding period of 2021.

This vital investment flow constituted 4.8 percent of gross domestic product at current prices, according to the preliminary data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

FDI constituted 75.9 percent of the total foreign investment by the end of 2022, NCSI data further added.

According to the NCSI data, oil and gas extraction attracted the highest volume of foreign investments, at 56.4 percent of the total foreign investment valued at OMR15.32 billion.

FDI inflows from the financial brokerage activity stood at OMR5.55 billion, from converting industries at OMR2.37 billion and transportation, storage and communications activity at OMR1.61 billion.

Further, total foreign investment in the activities of real estate, leasing and commercial projects reached OMR1.11 billion while foreign investment in other activities reached OMR1.15 billion.

FDI distribution over various sectors stood as follows: oil and gas (71.1 percent), converting industries (9.1 percent), financial brokerage (8.9 percent), real estate, leasing and commercial activities (4.9 percent) and other activities (6 percent).

The United Kingdom emerged as the most significant source of FDI, contributing OMR9.62 billion, followed by the United States of America at OMR3.68 billion and China at OMR1.03 billion.

Moreover, other major contributors to the FDI inflows into Oman include the United Arab Emirates (OMR915 million), Kuwait (OMR797 million), Qatar (OMR593.7 million), the Kingdom of Bahrain (OMR487.5 million), the Netherlands (OMR363.5 million), India (OMR321 million) and Switzerland (OMR176.5 million).

Meanwhile, the NCSI statistics further indicate that Omani investment abroad by the end of 2022 reached OMR5.38 billion at the end of 2022 compared to OMR6.02 billion by the end of 2021.

The United Arab Emirates come on top of the list of countries that attracted direct Omani investment abroad, with a total value of OMR960 million, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia OMR129.1 million. Omani direct investment in several countries stood as follows: the United Kingdom OMR93 million, Kuwait OMR32 million, Egypt OMR19.7 million, India OMR9.4 million and Bahrain OMR2.6 million.