The Cabinet’s approval to establish the Oman Global Financial Centre (OGFC) should be read as an economic decision, not a ceremonial one. Oman is signalling that the next stage of diversification will not depend only on building factories, ports and hotels. It will also depend on exporting services — especially financial and professional services — and on attracting global firms that choose Oman as a base for regional and cross-border activity.

According to Reuters (January 6, 2026), the OGFC will enjoy legislative, administrative and regulatory independence and will be built on a financial, judicial and legislative system aligned with global standards. That sentence is what separates a true international financial centre from a typical free zone. Finance is a trust business. Investors and institutions ask one basic question before they move: “If something goes wrong, will the rules be clear and fairly enforced?” A global financial centre is, in effect, a trusted operating environment for activities that cannot function without certainty — asset management, insurance and reinsurance, structured finance, fintech, compliance services and high-value advisory work.

Why now? Because Oman’s growth strategy is shifting from stabilisation to higher velocity. The Eleventh Five-Year Development Plan (2026-2030) targets roughly 300,000 job opportunities over the plan period. The quantity is welcome. The tougher challenge is quality: Oman must create more high-productivity jobs with globally portable skills and clear career ladders. When a country struggles to produce enough “high-end” private-sector roles, its best talent either becomes underutilised or looks abroad. A well-designed financial centre addresses that challenge directly, because financial services concentrate skill-intensive, high-value employment in one ecosystem.

To make OGFC simple to understand, think of it as “Oman’s export hub for finance”. A free zone usually offers broad licensing advantages and incentives to a wide range of businesses. A global financial centre is narrower and deeper: it builds specialist regulation, modern commercial law, credible dispute resolution and an ecosystem of firms that serve each other. It is not only banks. It is fund managers, family offices, insurers, brokers, fintechs, legal and arbitration practices, accounting and audit, risk and compliance specialists, ratings and research; and a growing layer of technology providers. When that cluster forms, it becomes a magnet for capital — and a factory for advanced skills and institutional capability.

The region already offers proof of what disciplined execution can deliver. In Dubai, the DIFC has matured into a dense cluster of global financial and professional-services firms, with a workforce that now runs into the tens of thousands. Abu Dhabi’s ADGM has followed a similar trajectory, scaling quickly as international firms establish regulated operations and deepen their on-the-ground presence. In Doha, the Qatar Financial Centre has likewise grown into a sizeable onshore platform spanning financial services and asset management.

These are not symbolic milestones. They reflect living ecosystems that generate direct jobs inside financial firms and indirect jobs across the value chain — legal services, audit, consulting, technology, training, events, hospitality and specialised real estate. And the prize is significant: The World Federation of Exchanges estimates global listed equity market capitalisation at roughly $124 trillion, while Arab stock markets together exceeded about $4.3 trillion in market value in recent reporting — more than enough scale to justify world-class hubs and enough competition to reward those who get execution right.

Oman is well-positioned to build its own version — if it stays disciplined. The country’s reputation for stability and constructive diplomacy is a competitive advantage that cannot be manufactured overnight. Oman’s legal and regulatory modernisation is also moving in the right direction: the Banking Law was updated by Royal Decree 2/2025 and the Financial Services Authority regulates key sectors such as insurance and capital markets. These foundations matter because a financial centre is only as strong as the rules beneath it — and the institutions that enforce them consistently.

What will OGFC affect when it is fully operational? Several sectors stand out. Wealth and asset management can grow through fund domiciliation, family office services and Sharia-compliant structuring. Insurance and reinsurance can deepen, supporting large industrial and infrastructure projects. Fintech and regtech can accelerate, modernising payments, onboarding and compliance. Project and trade finance can expand the financing toolkit for logistics, manufacturing and the energy transition. And a stronger professional services base — law, arbitration, audit and compliance — raises the overall sophistication of the business environment.

This is where the “jobs story” becomes concrete. A financial centre does not create employment only through the firms inside its gates. It creates demand for lawyers, accountants, analysts, developers, risk managers, investigators, trainers and service providers. It creates internships and entry-level pathways that matter for graduates. It creates mid-career progression that retains Omanis who might otherwise leave. And it creates senior roles that bring global experience into local teams. In other words, it turns the private sector from a collection of isolated employers into a connected, skills-driven talent market.

In my view, OGFC will succeed only if credibility is protected from day one. That means world-class dispute resolution, clear and stable regulation and strong enforcement of standards such as anti-money laundering and governance. It also means avoiding confusion in the investment landscape. Oman already has free zones and economic zones; OGFC must complement them, not compete with them. The centre should reward “substance” — real teams and real operations — not brass plates. And Oman must treat talent as infrastructure: targeted training, professional certifications, partnerships with global institutes and carefully designed visa and employment pathways that support long-term knowledge transfer to Omanis.

If these basics are executed well, OGFC can be a genuine game changer. Not because finance is fashionable, but because it is a proven way to build high-value jobs and to attract both foreign investment and high-quality domestic private investment. Cabinet approval is the starting gun, not the finish line. The opportunity now is to launch with discipline, preserve credibility and let the ecosystem do what strong ecosystems always do: compound.

The OGFC will enjoy legislative, administrative, and regulatory independence and will be built on a financial, judicial, and legislative system aligned with global standards.


2026 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).