MUSCAT - The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – the Sultanate of Oman’s integrated sovereign wealth fund – has broadened its network of strategic partnerships in a move that is helping channel foreign direct investment (FDI), global expertise, and financial reserves into the country.

 

Building on its portfolio of seven bilateral alliances – with India, Qatar, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Pakistan, Spain, and Uzbekistan – OIA added two new partnerships in 2024, with Jordan and Turkiye.

 

In May 2024, OIA signed a term sheet with Jordan’s Social Security Investment Fund to establish a joint investment company, capitalised at USD 100 million on a 50:50 basis. The entity will target key sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and logistics across Oman and Jordan.

 

Later in November, a partnership agreement was inked with Turkiye’s OYAK Fund to launch a USD 500 million joint investment fund focused on sectors including food, healthcare, energy, mining, logistics, and manufacturing.

 

These developments, along with robust performance from earlier partnerships, were highlighted in OIA’s recently published 2024 Annual Report.

 

Among the Authority’s most prominent collaborations is the Oman-India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), initially launched in 2011 with the State Bank of India (SBI). OIJIF has since grown into three separate funds:

 

Fund I ($100 million) completed full divestment by September 2024, posting a net internal rate of return (IRR) of 8.1%. Investments had spanned consumer goods, banking and financial services, IT, defence, and chemicals. Fund II ($230 million) reported a 14.7% net IRR as of September 2024, with investments in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, automotive, and other growth sectors. Fund III, agreed in late 2023, targets a size of $300 million, with OIA and SBI each committing $50 million.

 

Also delivering strong results is Al Hosn Investment Company, a 2007 joint venture between OIA and Qatar Holding. With a capital of RO 250 million, the company manages 13 investments, including real estate, valued at RO 233 million. Notably, it facilitated over RO 290 million in FDI through its management of the Falcon Portfolio under Qatar Holding. In 2024, Al Hosn participated in key IPOs such as OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP) and OQ Base Industries (OQBI), and recorded a 24% rise in net profit over the previous year.

 

Established in 2008 with Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corporation, Vietnam Oman Investment Company has a capital base of $200 million. Its portfolio includes 11 private equity investments, while $87.3 million was deployed into 12 new public equity investments by December 2024 under a revised investment strategy.

 

The Oman Brunei Investment Company, a $200 million partnership with the Brunei Investment Agency, oversees 11 investments across education, healthcare, hospitality, services, and aquaculture. The asset value of its portfolio reached approximately RO 95 million, with net profit growing by 10% to RO 94.75 million in 2024.

 

Set up in 2001 through a bilateral agreement between the governments of Oman and Pakistan, the Pak Oman Investment Company focuses on bonds, treasury bills, and loans. Revenues reached $209.6 million by September 2024, doubling from $101.8 million a year earlier.

 

Likewise, the Uzbek-Oman Investment Company (UOIC), founded in 2010 in partnership with the Uzbek Reconstruction and Development Fund, manages 12 investments. The company’s active portfolio exceeds USD 100 million, with two new deals completed in Tashkent in 2024.

 

Meanwhile, the Oman-Spanish Private Equity Fund, established with COFIDES in 2017, has expanded into two separate funds. The first, with a value of EUR 294.4 million, included EUR 100 million in commitments from each side. A second fund, launched in December 2023 with EUR 102 million in capital, also included equal contributions from both partners.

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