Oman opportunities

Weekly News
Oman
Opportunities
12 ~ 16 March 2017
Telegram: https://t.me/omanme

Rise in number of
bounced cheques
as Oman economy
slows down
Despite sanctions
relief, Shell still
cool on Iranian oil
buys
Consumer
watchdog
recorded 5883
complaints in
Oman
Omani banks plan
to raise capital by
issuing bonus
shares
Oman's power
output up 4.5%
last year
Oman transport:
Mwasalat
warehouse
holding more than
2,500 unclaimed
items
Oman crude price
hits three-month
low
Supreme panel
takes stock of e-
Census 2020
preparations
Muscat: Bounced cheques are increasing across
Oman as residents facing pay freezes struggle to
makeendsmeet.
The economic downturn in Oman has led to lay-
offs, delays in salary payments and a freeze on
housing, flightsallowancesandexpenses.
Those residents who have chosen to remain in the
Sultanate hope they can weather the storm, but
some employees are reporting non-payment of
salaries for more than three months, leaving
landlords with piles of rent cheques they cannot
bank.
In some cases, agencies and landlords are
demanding a OMR10 fee to hold a cheque for a
monthwithoutbankingit.
Indian expat Sabita, who lives in Ruwi, said that
for the last three months she has been paying
OMR10 more to her real estate agent for holding
therentcheques.
London: Royal Dutch Shell has bought only
three cargoes of Iranian oil since sanctions were
eased a year ago, a small fraction of what it used
to buy and an indication of the legal difficulties
andhighpricesthatstillhamperthetrade.
The Anglo-Dutch firm did not give a reason for
the drop in purchases, which were disclosed in its
annual report, and the company declined to
commentfurther.
But oil trading sources say Iranian oil is often too
expensive and in any case remaining sanctions
make dealing with the Islamic Republic a legal
minefield.
As an example of sanctions-related difficulties,
Shell's filings showed it had to disclose payments
of only a few hundred dollars when its employees
boughtticketswithIranianairlines.
After an accord was reached over Iran's nuclear
programme, the European Union eased sanctions
on Iran in January 2016 and the United States
lifted some restrictions on dollar trade, moves
that have allowed Iran to raise its oil exports
sharply.
Muscat: More than 5000 complaints were
registered with the Public Authority for
Consumer Protection in 2016 - the majority
againstthefoodsector.
According to data from the Directorate General
of Studies and Development at PACP, 5883
complaints were registered with the authority
lastyear.
The food consumption sector topped the list of
complaints with 1789 on record followed by
“other products” sector with 1023 while “other-
Muscat: Omani banks listed on the Muscat
Securities Market plan to expand their capital
base.
Four banks have submitted recommendations
during extraordinary general meetings (EGMs)
to increase their capital by distributing bonus
sharesamongshareholders.
The gross capital of the six listed commercial
banks by December-end of 2016 stood at
Muscat: Gross electricity production in the
Sultanate rose 4.5 per cent to 34,222.6GW, as
against 32,756.7GW produced in 2015,
accordingtolatestdata.
Net production went up 4.4 per cent to
33,635GW during the same period, according to
the latest bulletin from the National Centre for
Statistics&Information(NCSI).
Oman produced 377.92 million cubic metres of
water year, logging an annual rise of 12.2 per
cent.
The Governorate of Muscat saw a production
grow by 9 per cent to 170.74 million cubic
metres, while water production in the
Governorate of Dhofar surged 28.5 per cent to
48.33 million cubic metres. Total production
across other governorates went up 11.4 per cent
to158.84millioncubicmetres.
Gross electricity production in the Governorate
of Muscat declined 31 per cent to 3,878.8GW,
while Dhofar logged a 1.7 per cent rise at
3,372.2GW.
Muscat: More than 2,500 items from across the
Sultanate have yet to be claimed, as Mwasalat’s
warehouseispiledwithcargowaitingfortheir
owners.
Ranging from food products, documents and
hand written letters, these items have been sent
by senders, but remain unclaimed by customers
forseveralreasons.
Times of Oman interviewed Bader Mohammed
Al Nadabi, General Manager for Corporate
Support – Mwasalat, to learn about the
Muscat: Oman crude oil prices fell to pre-Opec
(Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries) agreement levels on glut concerns as
shale production offset price gains made by
outputcuts.
Futures, for delivery in May, traded at $51.32 on
close of last week’s trading at the Dubai
Mercantile Exchange (DME), falling more than
6 per cent in three days. Other oil benchmarks
followed suit, with Brent slumping to $51.39
and West Texas intermediary (WTI) trading at
$48.50, below the psychological mark of $50 for
thefirsttimesinceDecember.
The latest drop in prices is a result of statistics
released by the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA), which shows American
oil inventories surged by 8.2 million barrels last
week to a record 528.4 million barrels, forcing
speculators to abandon the long position in oil as
a market overhang loomed over the troubled
petroleumindustry.
Baker Hughes reported rising US rig count for a
straight eighth week, lifting the rig count to 617,
the highest since September 2015. EIA reported
a rise of 56,000 barrels per day last week in US
oil production to 9.088 million bpd (barrels per
day), highest in more than a year. Since the
bloc’s announced cuts, US drillers have brought
140rigsonline.
Muscat: Issues related to electronic census 2020
werereviewedatameetingyesterday.
The Supreme National Committee for the
electronic census scheduled for 2020 on
population, housing and establishments held its
first meeting of the current year yesterday under
the chair of Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said,
Minister of Heritage and Culture, Chairman of
theCommittee.
The Committee reviewed the topics on the
agenda, including the preparedness of the
ministries and various government units in
undertaking the census, and the availability and
statusoftheirown databases.
The Committee also reviewed the timetable for
the implementation of the e-Census 2020 project
in accordance with the time period specified in
the Royal Decree No. 15/2015. The panel
expressed its satisfaction with the workflow and
the practical steps and initiatives taken so far, as
plannedearlier.
The Supreme Committee also discussed the key
topicsontheagendaandtookappropriate
unclaimed goods and how they are undelivered
forweeks, andevenmonths.
Al Nadabi said that part of the problem is that the
customer does not know that an item was sent for
him.
“They sometimes don’t know that they are
receiving an item. The sender would send the
item without notifying the receiver. When the
cargo reaches its destination and we call the
receiver to claim the item, he says ‘No, I don’t
know anythingaboutit’,”explainedAlNadabi.
OMR1.090 billion; reflecting a growth of
OMR85.6 million, compared with 2015. Bank
Muscat, whose capital stood at OMR249.6
million as of the end of December 2016, said it
will distribute 5 per cent in stock dividends (five
shares for each 100 shares), in addition to 25 per
cent cash dividends (i.e. 25 baises for share).
The annual general meeting (AGM) will
consider the recommendation during its meeting
onMarch19.
Bank Muscat’s net profit rose to OMR176.8
million, from OMR172.2 million in 2015. Its net
profit represents about 52 per cent of the
OMR342.1 million net profits earned by six
othercommercialbanksthisyear.
Most commercial banks saw growth in their net
profits, except for the National Bank of Oman
(NBO), whose profits declined from OMR60.5
million to OMR54.5 million and Bank Sohar,
whose profits slipped from OMR27.7 million to
OMR19.1 million.
“We’re not just a Six Senses resort, but also an
asset of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, which will
now be featured worldwide, and this is very
good for business in Oman as it will help further
promote the country as a tourism destination,”
she toldTimesofOman.
devices are a part of the operating expenses for
the dealer and cannot be re-loaded to the card
holder in any case,” it said, in a written circular
issued recently. PACP said that they are taking
action against merchants charging customers for
services”sectorregistered735.
Restaurants and cafes received 567 complaints
followed by barbershops and salons with 347 on
record. The clothing sector registered 292
complaints last year followed by the contracting
sectorwith233.

Oman, Iran central
banks sign pact
Bank Muscat’s
sukuk issue
expected this
month, says
official
Oman’s crude
production falls
marginally to 27m
barrels in
February
Oman plans
‘smart’
transformation of
Muttrah city
Consumer protection
i n O m a n d i r e c t s
vendors to display all
taxes on receipts
Madinat Al Irfan
design to save
energy in Oman
Foreign investors
offload shares on
Muscat bourse
Ministry plans to
cancel expired
commercial
registrations
Tehran: Central banks of Oman and Iran signed a
memorandumofunderstandingonSunday.
Earlier, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al
Busaidi, Secretary General of the Foreign
Ministry met with Morteza Sarmadi, Deputy
ForeignMinisteroftheIslamicRepublicofIran.
Sayyid Al Busaidi also met with Dr. Valiollah
Seif,GovernoroftheIranianCentralBank.
The meetings dealt with areas of the bilateral
cooperation to serve efforts of promoting the
tradeexchangeandencouraginginvestment.
Several meetings and consultations were held
between members of the Omani delegation and
their Iranian counterparts in the monetary and
bankingsectors.
The meetings dealt means of enhancing the
bankingrelationsbetweenthetwo countries.
In this framework, a memorandum of
understanding was signed between the central
banks of the two countries. It was signed on
behalf of the Sultanate by Hamoud bin Sangour
Al Zadjali, Executive President of the Central
Bank of Oman (CBO), whilst it was signed from
the Iranian side by Dr. Valiollah Seif, Governor
oftheIranianCentralBank.
Muscat: Silver Star Corporation will organise the
fourth international Plastics, Rubber,
Petrochemicals, Printing and Packaging industry
exhibition—Oman Plast 2017—at the Oman
Convention and Exhibition Centre between
March21and23.
Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, chief executive
officer of the Public Establishment for Industrial
Estates (PEIE), will formally inaugurate the
fourth Oman Plast at 10 am on March 21 in the
presence of diplomats, government officials,
businessmen and people from the different walks
oflife.
During its fourth edition, Oman Plast will
showcase the latest technology and machineries
used in the manufacturing of plastics, rubber,
petrochemicals, printing and packaging. It will
be an ideal platform for Oman and its
neighbouring countries to source new
technology and products through this knowledge
forum. As the petrochemical industry is one of
the main components of the Omani economy, the
event will give great impetus to further
diversifyingitsgrowth.
Muscat: Energy savings up to 20 per cent are
expected to be realised owing to Madinat Al
Irfan’s sustainable urban design, according to
masterdeveloperOmran.
Under a sustainable governing framework, the
multi-million rial project will implement the use
of solar water heaters, solar lighting, smart
architecture to create natural shade zones, and
sustainable materials and efficient HVAC
systems among others to decrease total energy
consumption.
“We are expecting 9 per cent to 20 per cent
savings in total energy consumption in this
project. I believe we are achieving more than 18
per cent in the Exhibition Halls,” Ammar Al
Kharusi, director of development at Omran said
onthesidelinesoftheSustainabilityForum.
According to Al Kharusi, sustainability equates
not only to energy savings or environment but
encompasses an approach that envelopes people,
planetandprofit.
Muscat: Foreign investors are offloading shares
on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) as net
selling of non-Omani investors has touched
OMR25.15 millionso farthisyear.
Foreigners have been net sellers for OMR11.5
million so far this year. Regional investors also
remained sellers for OMR12.5 million. The
selling was absorbed by local institutional
buyers,” said a research note released by United
Securities. Arab investors (who are not included
in the regional investor category) were net sellers
totheextentofOMR1.5 million.
Foreign investors, including regional players, are
offloading their holdings on the Oman bourse
like other regional markets, mainly due to a drop
in oil prices, which touched a three-month low
lastweek.
In fact, foreigners were buyers during the initial
three weeks of the year and then remained sellers
for most of the days.They were selling shares of
Bank Muscat, Oman Telecommunications
Company(Omantel)andOoredooOman.
Foreign investors generally show an interest in
stocks, which are highly liquid with better
market capitalisation.“The foreigners are getting
out of the market,” said Joice Mathew, head of
researchatUnitedSecurities.
Muttrah, preserve the diversity and make the city
more tourist friendly. Our vision is to expand
economic activities and promote a hassle free
environment in the city of Muttrah. We are
looking to enable new business opportunities,
cater to tourists and shopkeepers and ease
parking and traffic issues in the city,” Ali Al
Shidhani, director of research centres and ICT
researchtoldtheTimesofOman.
E-services, digital infrastructure and resource
management are all on cards to develop the aging
traditional and business hub of Muscat, which
has played the most significant role in
developingtheSultanate’s economy.
Muscat: New regulations from Public Authority
for Consumer Protection (PACP) reveal that
establishments have to mention or display all
types of taxes on their bills. “The price of an item
and the tax levied on it must be displayed on the
receipt,”accordingtoPACP.
Two years after introducing a Consumer
Protection Law, PACP has released new
amendments to protect customers and
businesses. The executive regulations aim to
protect consumers from any negligence or
wrongdoing by suppliers, as well as giving
business owners guidelines to practice their trade
correctly and prevent them from violating the
law.
The laws also apply to purchases and exchanges,
which are made over electronic communication
platforms. The new regulations consider
products to be adulterated if they are altered in
shape, size, weight, amount, attributes, or
characteristics. The other regulations include
that every bill should display the name of shop,
the registration number and all other registration
data. “It should also mention the date of purchase
for goods or services and the price of the
commodityandtheamountoftax,”itsaid.
Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce and
Industry will cancel a number of expired
commercial registrations which have not been
renewed. The ministry will transfer these
registrations to the inactive establishments’ list
and stop their transactions with public and
privateagenciesrelatedtoInvestEasyPortal.
The ministry has given the owners of institutions
and companies who have not renewed their
commercial registrations six months to act
before taking action against them, according to a
press release.
The list of expired commercial registrations is
now published on the Invest Easy Portal, and the
ministry has allowed the renewal of commercial
registrations through Sanad offices and the
offices.Of lawfirms.
The number of commercial registers that have
beenrenewedin2016has reached23,947.
The ministry continues its efforts to improve
procedures and the working environment in the
Sultanate, as well as assist in the processing of
commercial registers to start businesses, with
the fastest commercial registration taking 145
seconds through the Invest Easy Portal. Oman
has been ranked as first in the Arab world in the
Doing Business Index, moving up by 127
positionscomparedtothepreviousyear.
Muscat: Oman produced 27.16 million barrels
of crude oil in February, equivalent to 970,000
barrels per day, according to a monthly report
released by the Ministry of Oil and Gas here on
Sunday. The report indicates a marginal drop of
0.09percent,comparedtoJanuary2017.
Of the total production, some 22.53 million
barrels of crude oil were exported in February
2017, equivalent to 948,440 barrels per day - a
fall of 6.4 per cent compared to the previous
month.
China was the major importer of the Sultanate’s
oil, accounting for 82.49 per cent of total
exports, which also shows a growth of 18.33 per
centoverthepreviousmonth.
South Korea imported 4.43 per cent of the
Sultanate’s crude oil exports, but the country’s
imports declined by 12.25 per cent compared to
thepreviousmonth.
This was followed by Japan and Taiwan, which
increased their imports in February by 2.57 per
centand1.08 percent,respectively.
Muscat: A new collaborative plan proposed by
government institutions has the potential to
transformthefaceofthehistoriccityofMuttrah.
The city is likely to get a major boost in digital
and public infrastructure to improve the living
environment for residents and make it more
tourist-friendly.
“Muscat Municipality is undergoing a major
rehabilitation project to improve livability in
Muscat:An Islamic bond issue to raise OMR23-
30 million, which is the first tranche of
Meethaq’s OMR100 million-sukuk programme,
will be floated towards the end of this month, a
senior official at Bank Muscat told Times of
Oman.
Meethaq is Bank Muscat’s pioneer Islamic
bankingwindow inOman.
The bank has already received an initial
approval from stock market regulator Capital
MarketAuthority (CMA). “We are waiting for a
final approval for the prospectus (from CMA).
Once that is approved, we will come out with the
issue. Before the end of this month, the issue will
be floated,” said Sulaiman Al Harthy, deputy
chief executive officer – Islamic Banking – at
BankMuscat.
“The sukuk programme will start with a small
amount, maybe (some) OMR25-30 million. We
are testing the market to see the market appetite.
Then we will come out with the second tranche,”
addedAlHarthy.

Oil steadies below
$49 as US drilling
threatens longer
glut
MEDC’s initial
public offering
expected before
June, says CMA
chief
Majority of
companies yet to
start VAT
preparation:
Survey
OOCEP named
fastest-growing oil
and gas firm in
Middle East
Iran's biggest
cargo line looks at
London share
listing
Renovation of
hotels won’t hit
Salalah tourism
Demand for skilled
Omanis high in
hospitality sector
Galfar
Engineering’s loss
increases to
OMR10.8m on
additional
impairment
London: Oil steadied below $49 a barrel as US
drillers continued to boost activity, countering
Opec’s effortstodrainaglobalglut.
Futures were little changed in New York after
falling 9.1 per cent last week, the biggest weekly
loss since November. Rigs targeting crude in the
US rose to the most since September 2015,
according to Baker Hughes. In Libya, crude
production dropped 11 per cent as clashes among
rival armed groups led to the closure of some of
theOpecnation’s biggestoil-exportterminals.
Oil last week broke below the $50-a-barrel level
it had held above since the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and 11
other nations started trimming supply on Jan. 1.
US crude stockpiles have climbed to a record and
production surged to the highest in more than a
year, while Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Khalid
Al-Falih said global supplies are falling slower
than expected. Rising US output is the "main
threat” to the global output deal, according to
Russia’s largestproducer.
Muscat: Oman Oil Company Exploration and
Production LLC (OOCEP), a subsidiary of the
Oman Oil Company, has been named the fastest-
growing oil company in the Middle East since
2015, by Wood Mackenzie—a global leader in
commercial intelligence for the energy, metals,
andminingindustries.
OOCEP earned this recognition after seeing its
net production significantly jump since 2015 to
57,000 barrelsofoilequivalentperday(boepd).
In the last three years, OOCEP has grown its
production and profitability significantly
through the successful start of production from
the Block 60 and Musandam Gas Plant operated
assets, as well as a number of other new joint
ventures in Oman.As a result, by the end of 2016,
the entitlement production of the company had
grown from 33,000 to 57,000 boepd, and is
expected to double again by 2020 as the Khazzan
projectrampsup.
Muscat: As many as half of the businesses said
they have not started any preparation for the
proposed introduction of value added tax (VAT)
in the Gulf region, according to a survey
conductedbyErnst&Young.
Only 11 per cent of respondents reported that
they had evaluated the changes that are needed to
their financial, operational and information
technology processes (enterprise resource
planning systems). Clearly, for many businesses
in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region
thetimetogetstartedis now.
Although communication about the timeline for
VAT implementation and details of the
framework have been delayed, January 2018 is
the stated target date and the underlying VAT
principles are based on VAT regimes adopted in
countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, and
overlaid with the European Union’s reverse
chargeprinciplestodealwithintra-GCCtrade.
Any further delays in issuing country specific
VAT laws will not prevent companies from
preparingforVATintheGCC region.
Companies need to address contractual, financial
and technology considerations well in advance
of the VAT introduction. VAT implementation
challenges include finance and administration
issues, such as cash flow, VAT refunds, input tax
recovery, tax payments and accounting periods,
imported services, information technology
issues, such as system changes, system
replacement, compliance, audit ability and tax
engines.
Companies have to address procurement issues,
such as multiple transaction types, vendor
registrationsandpreferentialtreatment.
By Samuel Kutty — MUSCAT: March 14 –
While the Sultanate has prioritised tourism and
hospitality sector as one of the major means to
generate jobs for nationals, availability of skilled
workforce is becoming a challenge.According to
reports from the sector, the demand for trained
Omanis is high thanks to the opening of new
properties by major international hotel chains.
But experts involved in training Omani students
for the tourism and hospitality sector say the
demand is unmet for several reasons. “The
shortage is happening mainly due to non-
availability of sufficient funding for vocational
training. This deters students from joining
training programmes to become eligible for the
jobs,”saidanofficialofacompany.
In a study on the future of tourism in Oman, two
scholars in Sultan Qaboos University, opined
that the Omanisation drive in the sector has met
with limited success due to gaps such as lack of
interest in joining the sector, shortage of skilled
Muscat: Luxury rooms in Oman will not suffer
from a squeeze this summer, senior officials in
thehospitalityindustrytoldtheTimesofOman.
However, this would mean that some tourists can
explore far flung places, such as Salalah and
Masirah.
Florian Wessel, director of revenue, Sheraton
Oman Hotel, said: “Summer is generally a low
season with regards to occupancy. Many
properties tend to schedule renovation around
this period. There has been a steady growth in the
hospitality and tourism sector; however a recent
increase in room supply has forced properties to
maintainlowroomratestoensuresustainability.
“A couple of properties shutting down for
renovation will not have a drastic impact. The oil
crisis within the region has not helped our cause
either. However, in the long run what will define
our sales is the quality of our service and
product.”
The same was echoed by Stefan Radstrom,
generalmanagerfortheGrandHyattHotel.
“Oman’s tourism will not be severely affected by
the renovations across hotels, because the peak
tourist period is from October to April, and there
are many new hotels coming up, such as the
Kempinski Hotel at the Wave Muscat, which
should be ready to welcome tourists later this
year.”
Cluster General Manager Nuno Neves for Park
Inn Muscat and Park Inn Duqm, said: “Not really,
because we have other “luxury” products in the
market, like our sister hotel Hormuz Grand
Hotel, part of our luxury product of Rezidor
Hotels. Also, the Shangri-la Hotel will continue
itspathofconsistencyonthislevel.”
US sanctions that still scare banks off Iranian
business, four Iranian and two Western sources
said.
Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL)
was removed from international sanctions
blacklists last year and after years of isolation
aims to raise funds to modernise its fleet. It has
already placed an order for new ships estimated
tobeworth$626million.
A floatation on the LSE would make it the first
Iranian company to list on Britain's main
exchangesincetheIslamicrevolutionin1979.
But the difficulty in achieving such a landmark
shows how far Tehran still remains from its goal
of integrating fully with the global economic
mainstream, since its 2015 deal with world
powers to lift international sanctions in return for
curbsonitsnuclearprogramme.
President Hassan Rouhani, who faces a
campaign for re-election in May, has struggled so
far to demonstrate to voters real economic
benefits from the deal. He won office in a
landslide in 2013 on a promise to reduce Iran's
isolation, and the nuclear deal is his crowning
achievement.
Omani staff especially with regards to language
skills in the tourism industry in general and tour
guidance specifically. National Hospitality
Institute, which is a leading provider of quality
vocational training for hospitality, catering and
travel sectors, in its annual report pointed out that
for the first four-month period in 2016, only 42
new trainees were sent to the company in spite of
employers requisitioning training for 274
identifiedjobs forthisperiod.
According to Al Kharusi, sustainability equates
not only to energy savings or environment but
encompasses an approach that envelopes people,
planetandprofit.
Muscat: Galfar Engineering & Contracting
Company on Tuesday said that the group’s
consolidated losses have been revised to
OMR10.82 million for 2016, after adjusting an
additional impairment of receivables of
OMR4.5 million and investment of OMR2
millionforanotherassociatecompanyinIndia.
This was assessed by the auditors in line with
IFRS provisions, according to a disclosure
statementpostedonMSM website.
This is also against a loss of OMR28.86 million
in 2015.The company’s total revenue stood at
OMR340.88 million in 2016, against
OMR345.23 million in the previous year. The
consolidated expenses also stood at
OMR339.91 million in 2016, against
OMR342.96 millionforthepreviousyear.
London/Ankara: Iran's top cargo shipping
company has held meetings in London to
discuss a possible listing on the London Stock
Exchange (LSE), but has so far been thwarted by
Muscat: Oman government’s disinvestment of
49 per cent stake in state-owned Muscat
Electricity Distribution Company (MEDC) by
way of an initial public offering (IPO) is
expected before June this year, a top-level
official at the Capital Market Authority (CMA)
toldtheTimesofOman.
“We are in discussion with the issue manager
and it is in the process. We hope to see the issue
before the end of the first half of this year.That is
what we are hearing from the Ministry of
Finance,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Salim Al
Salmi, executive president of CMA. The state-
owned electricity firm has already submitted its
prospectusfortheshareoffer.
Al Salmi further said the size of the issue and
offer price have not been decided yet since the
issuemanagerhas tocompletevaluations.
Discussions are also on to take a final decision
on whether to reserve a certain portion of the
issue for institutional investors (such as Oman
Telecommunication Company’s share offer few
years ago) or offload the whole issue in favour of
the investing public. “A decision is yet to be
taken.”

Oman plans to
organise a major
investment forum
Oman refiner hires
Credit Agricole for
$6b project
Muscat: Oman will be organising a major
investment forum—the Oman International
Forum on Business and Investment
Opportunities—towards the end ofApril or in the
firstweekofMay.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in
cooperation with various companies will
organise the forum, said Mohsin Khamis Al
Balushi, advisor at the Ministry of Commerce
andIndustrysaid.
The ministry is expecting large participation
fromtheGulfCooperationCouncilandEurope.
D u b a i : O m a n ’s D u q m R e f i n e r y &
Petrochemical Co. hired Credit Agricole SA to
advise on fundraising for its $6 billion project,
according to two people with knowledge of the
plan.
Credit Agricole will help the Omani company
raise more than $2 billion in loans, said the
people, who asked not to be identified because
the information is not public. Funding backed by
export credit agencies and a sale of bonds may
also be considered to support the project, the
peoplesaid.
The Duqm refinery project is 50 per cent owned
by state-controlled Oman Oil Co, with the other
50 per cent held by Kuwait Petroleum
International, a unit of government-owned
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. The project involves
building a 230,000-barrel-a-day refinery in the
Duqm Special Economic Zone on the Arabian
Sea coast. Spokesmen for Oman Oil and Credit
Agricole did not respond to requests for
comment.Oman is pushing ahead with projects
to diversify its economy even as low oil prices
hurtitsfinances.
State-owned Electricity Holding Co. last month
hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank Muscat
to advise on raising $2 billion for projects, while
Bank Muscat and Standard Chartered Plc are
said to be helping Oman Oil raise about $1.4
billion from two loans for its liquefied
petroleumgas andmethanolbusinesses.
Muscat IT Eng. & Trd. LLC
Services:
Registration & Investment Consultants
Participation in Investments Projects
Introducing interested Omani investors
Marketing & Sale Services
Deferred payment LCs
Facilities for getting loans
Re-Export / Re-Import
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GSM & WhatsApp: +968 917 43 191
amir@muscat-it.com

Orpic plans
strategic fuel
reserves in the
Sultanate
Back2Business
attracts high-
profile turnout
By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: MARCH 11 –
Orpic, the Sultanate’s refining and
petrochemicals flagship, is planning to establish
fuel depots at strategic locations in the country,
according to a top official of the wholly state-
owned company.Ahmed al Jahdhami (pictured),
Chief Executive Officer, said one such strategic
fuel reserve is planned atAl Jifnain (just outside
Muscat Governorate) where Orpic Logistics
LLC, the partnership of Orpic and Spanish fuel
transportation and storage specialist Compañía
Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH), is building a
major fuel storage and distribution terminal.
“We are working with the government on our
project called ‘strategic reserves’ in Al Jifnain
and other areas,” Al Jahdhami said. The official
made the revelation at the Oman & Italy
Business Forum 2017, which was held last
Wednesday to spotlight opportunities for In-
Country Value (ICV) development linked to the
implementation of part of Orpic’s mammoth
$6.4 billion Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex
(LPIC) at Suhar. The event showcased, among
other things, opportunities associated with
Italian-based technology giant Maire
Tecnimont’s $888 million contract for the
execution of Package 2 of the LPIC project,
covering the construction of polyethylene and
polypropyleneplants.
In his presentation — his first public
engagement since taking over as Orpic CEO
with effect from January 1, 2017 —Al Jahdhami
said the Muscat-Suhar Product Pipeline project,
which includes the centrepiece Al Jifnain
Terminal,is dueforcompletionthisyear.
AL DUQM: The Governorate of Al Wusta is
famous for its marine wealth. The governorate is
rich with different types of Omani fish like
shrimps, abalone, kingfish, emperor, groupper
and seabream due to the long coastline as the
governorate overlooks the Arabian Sea and is
considered a key asset to the Omani economy in
fish production internally and externally. Many
residents of the governorate work in fishing and
the associated professions, including fish
transport, sale, and trade. The Department of
Fisheries in the governorate plays an important
role in organising fish put-up in the market and
the implementation of many projects for the
developmentofthefisheriessector.
Khalid bin Hamad al Hadabi, Director of the
Department of Fisheries, in the Governorate of
Al Wusta said that shrimp traps control project
was completed over the past year where it
achieved positive results during operation,
including preserving the shrimp stocks and
regulating fishing with the licensed fishing gear,
as well as creating self-censorship among the
fishermen to maintain this stock, noting that the
costofthisprojectstoodatRO 109,000.
He added that Fishermen Complex in Ras
Madrakah in the Wilayat of Al Duqm was
completed and it attracts more than 200
fishermen and workers in the fisheries sector
from other regions, adding that the project aims
at reducing expat labour and encouraging Omani
fisherman to work and maintain the fishing
profession.
New projects set
to ramp up flour
milling capacity
COMEX 2017 to
focus on fostering
digital
connections
Back2Business 2017 proved that the initiative
has grown from strength to strength, with over
350 guests attending yesterday’s event hosted by
the Grand Hyatt Muscat. “It is always a great
pleasure doing this event. The business
chambers involved have worked very hard for
the last eight months, and tonight we
experienced the excellent result of their great
efforts,” Stefan Radstrom, General Manager,
GrandHyattMuscat.
Guests included influential personnel and
dignitaries who eagerly networked with
businesspersons from across a multitude of
sectors. “It’s an occasion where useful,
insightful dialogue can be exchanged, whether
you are an employee, an SME or a global
corporation,” said Eva Stanley-Jones, Event
Organiser.
By Business Reporter — MUSCAT: MARCH
11 – Oman’s international business
communities came together to tackle the topic of
‘Challenge’ at this year’s Back2Business,
Oman’s Largest Business Networking Event,
sponsored by the Bank of Beirut Oman.
Together with The Oman American Business
Centre, the British Business Forum, the
European Business Persons Group and the
Australian Business Group Oman, the evening
presented an opportunity to network, mingle and
connectwithinspectacularsurroundings.
MUSCAT: The 27th edition of Oman’s
prominent event for IT, Telecom & Technology,
COMEX, will take place from March 28 toApril
1, 2017 at the Oman Convention & Exhibition
Centre. This seminal ICT event is held in
collaboration with Smart City Summit-Oman
being held for the first time in Oman with
strategic partnership of the Smart Cities Council
and the Information Technology Authority
(ITA) as well as Oman Broadband and Omran.
The theme of COMEX this year will centre on
‘to digital life” that impact the future of both
business and personal spheres.“ICT is breaking
new grounds in terms of economic & social
transformation, creating new networks and
connections within both the public and private
sectors. Access to services, enhancing
connectivity and creating business
opportunities, ICT plays a pivotal role in
bringing individuals and organisations together.
This year, COMEX focuses the spotlight on
Oman’s digital society, uniting stakeholders
from all walks of life involved in creating and
developing the new digital economy” inputs Mr
TarekAli,GeneralManager, OITETradeFairs.
A proliferation of flour mills in the Sultanate is
set to boost flour production capacity to 3,800
metric tonnes (MT) per day, representing nearly
a doubling of capacity from 2015 when Oman
had only two plants — Oman Flour Mills in
Muscat and Salalah Flour Mills in Dhofar
Governorate. The dramatic increase in milling
capacity, while boding well for the nation’s food
security objectives, is expected to accelerate
already fierce competition in the domestic
market.
According to Salalah Flour Mills, currently the
nation’s largest miller with a daily milling
capacity of 1,500 MT, two new mills have set up
operations in Salalah over the past two years.Al
Raseed Flour Mill andAl Reef Flour Mill, with a
capacity of 200 MT and 300 MT respectively,
have come on stream at Raysut Industrial Estate.
In addition, a fifth plant —Al Khajeej Flour Mill
— is preparing to launch operations with a
capacity of 500 MT per day at Suhar Industrial
Estate during the current quarter. Also on the
anvil is the government-backed Suhar Flour
Mill, currently under construction at Suhar Port
withacapacityof500MT.
Money lost on
property tax
evasion
Fisheries sector in
Al Wusta is key
asset to economy
By Samuel Kutty — MUSCAT: MARCH 11 –
Muscat Municipality plans to clamp down on
those who evade tax on rents for residential and
commercial properties. A civic official told
Observer that several cases of non-compliance
with payment of tax for tenancy agreements
have been detected and, in some cases actions
initiated against offenders. While many
landlords even do not sign agreement in
connivance with the tenants, several others
undervalue the property to bunk off taxes fixed
bythemunicipality.
“By doing so both the owner and tenant stand to
profit from this kind of a deal, while it deprives
the municipal coffer of thousands of rials every
year”, said the official who did not want to be
named.
Moreover, the municipality tax that has been
mentioned in the provisions of the Royal Decree
No (6/98) is a governmental debt to be paid by
the landlords or tenants as per the agreement and
can be collected by the administrative
confiscation.
According to Salim Mohammed al Ghamary, a
Muscat Municipality Council member, the civic
body loses a large sum of amount every year by
wayoftaxevasion.
“Many of the property owners in Muscat do not
register rent lease agreements to evade taxes.
The municipality should impose heftier
penalties for those violating the rule, not just
fines”,hesaid.
Unless the lease agreement is registered and the
prescribed fees are paid, such agreement shall
not be recognised by any official authority in the
Sultanate.
New regulations
beef up consumer
protection
Omani investors
abroad told to be
vigilant
By Staff Reporter — MUSCAT: March 12 –
Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(OCCI) in a statement issued on Sunday warned
Omani investors abroad to be careful before
entering into any kind of business agreements.
The chamber was responding to a report in a
regional newspaper, which said that 22 Omani
investors have been victims of a scam amounted
By FahadAl Ghadani — MUSCAT: March 12 –
The Public Authority for Consumer Protection
(PACP) has issued executive regulations that
further strengthen consumer protection in the
Sultanate. The new guidelines, coming just over
two years since the promulgation by Royal
Decree of the Consumer Protection Law, will
come into force today (March 13). The new
regulations seek to address all the shortcomings
in the Consumer Protection Law. For example, it
deems a product as adulterated if it contains
foreign substances that may change its
composition and affect its durability. Likewise,
it mandates the printing of the requisite product
specifications on the package label as sought by
regulatoryagenciesintheSultanate.
The place of origin of the product should be
furnished as well. Under the new regulations,
the sale of a consumer product is deemed illegal
if it has passed it’s expiration date, or if there are
any changes to its natural form, or labels feature
misleading information. The new regulations
guarantee the rights of consumer, including the
right to access information of the commodities
being purchased or used, or the services
received. The new regulations also affirm the
consumer’s right to return a product or get a
faulty item replaced. The consumer may return
the goods within 15 days of purchase or delivery.
Furthermore, the regulations upholds the
consumer’s right to be sold products and
services that respect religious values, customs
andtraditions.
Penalties are toughened under the new
regulations. Prison terms ranging from one to
two years, with fines of up to RO 2,000, have
been prescribed. Actions that compromise the
safety of consumers are punishable with jail
terms ranging from 10 days to one year, with
fines extending from RO 100 to RO 2,000. The
new regulations have been enthusiastically
welcomed by the general public. Ali Khalfan, a

Over 200,000
cruise tourists
visit Oman
By Vinod Nair — MUSCAT: March 14 –Atotal
of 217,000 visitors arrived in Oman through
cruise ships in 2016, a growth of 47.6 per cent
compared to the previous year, as per the details
available. The cruise tourism, which started in
late November and concludes this month, has
been witnessing a steady growth over the past
few years, making it one of the fastest growing
sectors in terms of tourists visiting to the
country. On Tuesday, the ship MSC Fantasia —
owned by MSC Cruises — called at Port Sultan
Qaboos with 4,500 passengers of different
nationalities. Last week, two massive cruise
ships, Mein Schiff 3 and Vision of the Seas, with
over 6,000 passengers had called at Muscat, to
add to the claims that 2016-17 season has been
one of the dynamic for Oman in terms of the
growth of cruise tourism. Meanwhile, the hotel
revenues (three to five star categories) increased
by 2.3 per cent to 17 million in January 2017,
compared to the same period a year ago. Visitors
from Europe top the occupants followed by the
numberofOmanis.
Construction work on the Mall of Oman — a
super-regional retail destination — has
commencedatBausherinMuscatGovernorate.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF), a leading
developer, owner and operator of shopping
malls, hotels and mixed-use communities in the
Middle East and North Africa, is developing the
SMC awards SNC-
Lavalin contract
for ammonia plant
construction
GCC hospitality
market records
lower RevPAR in
Jan
By Business Reporter — MUSCAT: MARCH
12 – The majority of the hospitality market
across the Middle East witnessed a decrease in
KPIs in January 2017 when compared to the
same month last year, according to Yousef
Wahbah, MENA Head of Transaction Real
Estate at EY. In the GCC, all markets except
Kuwait recorded lower revenue per average
room (RevPAR), reflecting the slowdown in
performance witnessed across the wider MENA
region, he stated in the January 2017 MENA
HotelBenchmarkSurveyReport.
Dubai’s hospitality market emerged as the top
MENAperformer in January 2017, representing
the highest occupancy at 85.7 per cent and
highest RevPAR of $246, over three times the
average RevPAR recorded in other MENA
cities. Dubai beach hotels had the highest
RevPAR of $343, while city-based hotels in
Dubai recorded the highest occupancy at 87.6
percent.
Despite the influx of new hotels, Dubai has
managed to sustain extremely high occupancy
levels year on year. However, average room
rates and RevPAR dropped 8.1 per cent and 7.3
per cent percentage points (pp) respectively in
January, which could be a result of an
oversupply of rooms, encouraging the sector as a
whole to lower room rates to remain
competitive.
Abu Dhabi’s hospitality market maintained a
strong occupancy of 77 per cent in January 2017,
but witnessed a decrease in RevPAR andADR of
11.8 per cent and 10.6 per cent when compared
totheperiodlastyear,EY’s reportsaid.
Cairo’s hospitality market saw an immense
growth across all KPIS in January 2017,
witnessing the highest growth in RevPAR of 160
per cent at $64, up from $24 in January 2016,
duetohigheroccupancyandroomrates.
By Business Reporter — MUSCAT: MARCH 12
– Salalah Methanol Company (SMC), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Oman Oil Company
(OOC), has awarded SNC-Lavalin, a contract for
the engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) of a 1,000 metric tonnes per day
anhydrous liquid ammonia plant, including its
utilities and off-site infrastructure, in Salalah
Free Zone. This vital project is in line with the
economic diversification of the Sultanate, and as
part of the company’s growth strategy with the
aim of contributing to value creation. Setting up
the ammonia plant is considered an important
milestone for high value-added petrochemical
industries.
The project works will begin in March, SNC-
Lavalin will be responsible for the engineering,
procurement, construction and commissioning
of the facility, which will produce anhydrous
liquid ammonia. The completion of Refinancing
by SMC is expected to occur in the second
quarter of 2017, and the plant construction will
be completed in three years. The ammonia plant
would be utilising the methanol plant’s hydrogen
rich by-product gas as feedstock. The plant was
designed by LindeAG of Germany using Haldor
Topsoe license of Denmark for ammonia
synthesis production. The design complies with
local environmental regulations.The project will
also harness in-country value with strong focus
on the development of local resources and
engaginglocalsupplychain.
This project paves the way for future
opportunities in Oman for the development of
downstream industries and thus, maximising the
value addition. Ammonia contributes
significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial
organisms by serving as a precursor to food and
fertilizers.
Oman ranks high
in medical tourism
By Samuel Kutty — MUSCAT: March 13 – The
Sultanate of Oman has been ranked 35th in the
global Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for its
expanded access to healthcare and consumer
experience. It has been placed seventh and fifth
among Arab nations for its overall high
performance and country environment
dimension, respectively. The ranking for its
medical tourism industry and the facility and
service quality dimensions are both in eighth
position in the region. The MTI is a worldwide
reference point unveiled by International
Healthcare Research Center (IHRC), which
considers destination environment, medical
tourism and quality of services and facilities for
ranking.“It is Oman’s cost advantage for
healthcare over the neighbouring nations that
allows the country to better compete, while still
having to pay attention to sub-dimensions that
will help them achieve greater results and
increase medical tourism business,” IHRC said
in its 2016 ranking report. According to IHRC,
Oman managed to receive more than two
million visitors to the country last year, and is
working on rehabilitating its historic venues and
developing better infrastructure around them to
increase its appeal. “The country still needs to
work on attracting more visitors as well as
working to boost the quality of its hospitals and
its international accreditations,” the report
points out.The MTI measures the attractiveness
of a country as a medical tourism destination in
terms of overall country image and
environment; healthcare and tourism
attractiveness and infrastructure; and
availability and quality of medical facilities and
services. “Public healthcare is perceived as
being of high quality for a middle income
country, which makes the quality of the private
sector high and gives them an opportunity to be
able to compete in the medical tourism industry
for incoming patients,” the report adds. Medical
tourism is one alternative that patients pursue
typically to get cheaper or more advanced
treatmentsnotofferedintheirhomecountry.
Ten sectors to be
prioritised: Oman
Global Logistics
JV begins work on
$450m Mall of
Oman
MUSCAT,MARCH 13–
Oman Global Logistics Group (OGL), the
transport and logistics arm of the Omani
government, has prioritised 10 different sectors
that, suitably developed and leveraged, have the
potential to make a significant contribution to
the strategic goal of supporting the growth of a
logistics-centriceconomyintheSultanate.
Of the 10 target areas, five of them — Mining,
Fisheries, Chemicals, Food Processing and
Agriculture — are essentially production sectors
with the potential to generate sizeable volumes
for export. The remaining five thrust areas —
Retail & FMCG, Automotive, E-commerce,
Pharmaceuticals, and Oil & Gas — that are ideal
as hubs or distribution centres with the potential
to fuel the growth of logistics activities in the
Sultanate.The initiative is an integral part of the
National Logistics Strategy currently being
implemented by OGL on behalf of the Omani
government, according to a senior official of the
state-owned grouping of the government’s
investments in various ports, free zones,
logistics hubs, and transport entities.Elements of
OGL’s implementation strategy and the
potential for logistics-related investment
opportunities were outlined by Ahmed Said
Tabook, Programme Director — Markets,
Oman Global Logistics Group, at a key forum
held in the city last week.Also as part of the
National Logistics Strategy, OGL is working to
formulate a national markets development plan
to help achieve the short, medium and long-term
ambitions and targets set out in the national
logistics roadmap, said Tabook.Notable are
government’s ambitions to lift the logistics
sector’s contribution to the GDP to RO 3 billion
by 2020, RO 8 billion by 2030 and RO 14 billion
by 2040. It also envisions the growth of air cargo
to 0.35 million tonnes by 2020, rising to 0.75
million tonnes by 2030 and 1.5 million tonnes by
2040.
Oman eyes RO 17
billion
investments in 3
sectors
to nearly RO 450,000. The chamber said the
investors should seek help from legal authorities
to ensure the validity of all documents. As per
the original report, a man posing as a UAE-
based property developer proved to be a con
artist after collecting RO 450,000 from 22
Omani investors as deposits for three-bedroom
flats in Dubai. The newspaper report said that
the fraudster claimed to be a partner with a
member of an influential family when they met
Oman’s government is targeting investment
inflows totalling in excess of RO 17 billion into
three key economic sectors — manufacturing,
tourism and logistics — over the next 4 – 5 years,
according to a high-ranking official of the
Supreme Council for Planning. Talal al Rahbi,
Deputy Secretary General, said the three sectors
are at the heart of a strategic initiative
spearheaded by the National Programme for
Enhancing Economic Diversification
(Tanfeedh) to accelerate economic development
through the pursuit of promising non-
hydrocarbonactivities.
Speaking at a forum held in the city last week,Al
Rahbi said the three sectors in question have
been singled out from a total of 19 sectors that
have been identified for investment and
development during the current 9th Five Year
Plan (2016-2020). Total investment envisaged
in the 19 sectors is projected at RO 42 billion
over the duration of the Plan, he noted. “With
regard to Tanfeedh, we are clear in terms of the
direction we want to take, the investment we
want to achieve, and so. Investors will also know
who to talk to, and how to start the dialogue with
the people responsible for the (Tanfeedh
projectsandinitiatives),”theofficialsaid.

Opportunities
Galore
State Council
okays proposal to
amend economic
law
UK fisheries
centre to set up
office in Muscat
MUSCAT: The State Council session on
Wednesday, examined and approved the
proposal on its study of the Education and
Research Committee titled ‘Revising the
Duplication of Programmes and Majors at
HigherEducationInstitutions’.
It also gave assent to the proposal by the
Economic Committee to amend the economic
development law issued by the Royal Decree No
9/75.
The State Council Chairman, Dr Yahya bin
Mahfoudh al Mantheri chaired the session in the
presence of the honourable council members
andtheSecretary-GeneraloftheCouncil.
The approval for the proposal on the study of the
Education and Research Committee titled
‘Revising the Duplication of Programmes and
Majors at Higher Education Institutions’ came
following the intensive discussions at the
council session. It was decided to institute a
committee to incorporate the observations of the
members.
955978The decision came after DrAbdullah bin
Mubarak al Shanfari, Head of the Committee,
highlighted the efforts and initiatives made by
the committee, which included hosting officials
from the Ministry of Higher Education, Sultan
Qaboos University and the Ministry of
Manpower.
Investments2020.
The great FDI potential covers various sectors
like the ambitious Oman Rail, power generation
and transmission, desalination, logistics,
petrochemicals,tourismandmining.
Around $15 billion investments are expected in
Oman Rail in nine segments covering 12,000 km
of rails, 10 million sleepers, 46 stations, eight
maintenance yards and 40 million fastenings,
while power generation and desalination are
expected to have $6 billion in investments, as
transmission is expecting $1 billion in
investments. This includes 2,500 MW solar
poweras wellas500MWofwindpower.
“Logistics is expected to generate roughly $4.2
billion investments by 2020, which include
Khazaen 95 km2, GCC land connectivity, and
SalalahPortexpansion,”Shahswar added.
Tourism, on the other hand, is poised to attract
$1.8 billion investment by 2020 by way of ITC,
leisure and hotels, while petrochemical
industries are expecting a whopping $10.5
billion investments by 2020 in three major areas
besides petrochemical, metal, non-metal and
foodsectors.
MUSCAT: As part of 3-year UK-Gulf Marine
Environmental Sciences Programme, a team of
scientists from UK government’s Centre for
Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Sciences (CEFAS) visited the Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries. Dr Lubna al Kharusi,
Director-General of Fisheries Research,
welcomed the team and discussed the visiting
agenda which includes training of researchers
and research assistants. She stated that the aim of
UK-Gulf Marine Environmental Sciences
Programme is to provide technical advice,
training and capacity development for the
ministrystaff.
In their turn, CEFAS are presenting the findings
of the review of Oman’s capacity for the
management of aquatic diseases in aquaculture
and discussing plans for long-term development
of the ministry’s capacity to manage disease in
aquaculture. During the visit, CEFAS will
provide the ministry staff with training and
technical advice related to fisheries
management, aquatic disease control and
fisheries stock assessment techniques. For
example, 2-day workshop on using R-language
software environment, which is a widely used
statistical programme, is undertaken at the
Aquaculture Centre. This cooperation will
ultimately support the ministry to manage a
sustainable and productive fishing and
aquaculture industry to gain the full benefits
fromOman’s largemarineresources.
By Kabeer Yousuf — MUSCAT: March 15 –
With a plethora of infrastructure, tourism
projects currently under way complemented by
highly strategic and socio-economic edges, the
Sultanateis havenforforeigninvestments.
A detailed presentation on various projects
where foreign investments are invited was made
at the Oman-India investment seminar cum B2B
meeting held at the Indian Embassy premises to
the various multi-national companies attending
theBigShow Expobeingheldinthecountry.
“In less than two hours from the major business
centres of Asia and fast sailing times to Asia,
Africa, Europe and North America, Oman’s
investment potential is rather high,” Shahswar G
al Balushi, CEO of Oman Society of
Contractors, said in his talk on Oman
signatureproject.
Recently, the Dubai-based conglomerate named
the joint venture of Shapoorji Pallonji Middle
East and Consolidated Contractors Company
Oman (SP-CCC) as the main contractor for the
implementation of the Mall of Oman. The value
of the contract, which was keenly contested by a
number of leading construction firms in the
Sultanate,isestimatedat$450million.
Initial enabling works, representing Phase 1 of
the project, are being undertaken by local Omani
firm Sarooj Construction. Besides major
earthworks and utility diversions, the contract
also entails the construction of road
infrastructure providing access to the site just off
MuscatExpressway.
The SP-CCC joint venture has been given a
three-year timeframe to deliver its contract.
When completed by 2020, the sprawling facility
— which is expected to be the biggest shopping
destination of its kind in the Sultanate — will
host an estimated 350 outlets set on a retail space
of over 135,000 sq metres. Major attractions are
expected to include a giant snow park, VOX
Cinemas complex, and the nation’s largest store
of theAbercrombie & Fitch apparel and lifestyle
brand.
Services:
Visa
GSM & WhatsApp: +968 917 43 191
amir@muscat-it.com

Call to plug grads
skill gap
Private players to
power 1b-rial
Duqm rail corridor
MUSCAT
The Sultanate needs to take concrete measures
to improve the employability of its fresh
graduates and diploma holders to suit the labour
marketdemand,say experts.
Such steps are necessary to put Omanisation
programme on fast track, they told Oman
Tribune.
Anumber of experts this paper spoke to said that
institutes of higher education had already started
taking several measures to prepare young
graduates for this to help them tap the
opportunities being thrown up by a diversifying
economy.
Their courses are being redesigned to impart
skills relevant to the work environment. This
should help national graduates beat competition
andmeetgrowingexpectationsofindustry.
According to latest statistics, there were over
20,800 graduates aspiring for jobs at the end of
2016.
Assistant Dean of Training and Community
The ‘Invest Easy’ Portal has received 8,921
transactions in the Commerce and Industry
Department in Sur, Governorate of South Al
Sharqiyah, data from Ministry of Commerce
andIndustryshow.
Among these 8,339 were completed, 323
Service at the College of Engineering in Sultan
Qaboos University Ghazi Ali Al Rawas said,
“The quality of internship training for
undergraduate students makes a difference and
we can see students become confident after this
programme”.
updated, 164 were cancelled for lack of required
conditions, 92 held for payment, two were
rejected and one application was under
verificationprocedures.
These transactions included the mortgage
cancellation, business addition and transfer,
renewal of business records, renewal of the
commercial agency registration, cancellation of
industrial licencing, registration of mortgage for
commercial facility, registration of commercial
agency, and cancellation of industrial
registration.
MUSCAT
The Sultanate is scouting for private players to
develop the 1 billion rial rail corridor connecting
DhofarminingareaswithDuqmport.
Oman Global Logistics Group, the infrastructure
holding company of the government, is in talks
with private sector mining companies to set up
the 350km rail link jointly, a top official told
OmanTribuneonTuesday.
“If a private party wishes to jointly develop the
rail lines, we are happy to talk,” CEO of the
companyAbdulrahmanAlHatmisaid.
The rail line will connect mining areas of Al
Shuwaymiyah and Manji in Dhofar with Duqm
port.
Al Hatmi said the authorities were working with
companies in the mining sector to develop a joint
plan to transport limestone from Manji and
gypsumfromShuwaymiyahtoDuqmport.
These sections would become the first for the
Oman national rail network, unless the plan to
develop an integrated rail network among Gulf
Cooperation Council states progresses, he said
on the sidelines of Business-to-Business meeting
organised by the Indian Embassy for visiting
businessmen from India and their Omani
counterparts.
The preliminary design of the rail network done
Muscat third best
Arab city in quality
of life
Fed may shift
stance, move to
faster pace of rate
hikes
Oil producers
keep promise on
cut: Opec
by Italian firm Italferr, includes lines between
Shuwaymiyah and Manji to Duqm port, said Al
Hatmi.
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON
The Federal Reserve, which has struggled to
stoke inflation since the financial crisis and up
until now raised rates less frequently than it and
markets expected, may be about to hit the
acceleratoronratehikes.
On Wednesday, the US central bank is almost
universally expected to raise its benchmark
interest rates, a move that just a few weeks ago
was viewedbythemarketsasunlikely.
And with inflation showing signs of perking up,
Fed policymakers may signal there could be
more than the three rate rises they have forecast
forthisyear.
“They do not have as much room to be patient as
they did before,” said Tim Duy, an economics
professor at the University of Oregon, who
expects Fed policymakers to lift their rate
forecaststhisweek.
Policymakers have their eyes on achieving full
employment and 2-per cent inflation. The faster
the economy approaches those goals, Duy said,
the quicker the Fed will want to tighten policy to
avoidgettingbehindthecurve.
“That’s an acceleration in the dots,” he said,
referring to forecasts published by the Fed that
show policymakers’ individual rate-hike
forecastsas dotsonachart.
The economy already appears closer to its goals
than the Fed had expected in December, the last
time it released forecasts. The jobless rate, at 4.7
per cent, is below what policymakers see as the
long-run norm, and inflation, at 1.7 per cent, is
already in the range they had expected by year
end.
Muscat was ranked the third best Arab city in
terms of quality of life, according to an
internationalsurvey.
Muscat bagged the position after Dubai andAbu
Dhabi and ahead of Doha, Tunis, Rabat and
Amman and Casablanca, according to HR
consultancy firm Mercer’s survey on the Quality
ofLivingIndex.
Muscat was ranked 106th among 231 cities on
the world level in the index that looks at which
citiesprovidethebestqualityoflife.
Vienna, Austria’s grand capital on the Danube
river, topped the list offering the highest quality
of life for the eighth year in a row, and Baghdad
was pushed to be considered the worst place to
livein.
The survey helps companies and organisations
determine compensation and hardship
allowances for international staff. It uses dozens
of criteria such as political stability, healthcare,
education,crime,recreationandtransport.
Singapore was the highest ranked Asian city, at
25 while 29th-placed San Francisco was the
highest entry from the US. Top of the list in
Africawas Durbanat87.
Research gets
private push
the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its
monthlyoilreport.
The oil price recovery was, however, under
threat from fresh supply as high-cost producers
in the United States started drilling again,
encouraged by the price upswing, as well as
fromrisingCanadianproduction.
An Opec oil price reference basket rose by about
two per cent to an average of $53.37 in February,
theorganisationsaid.
“High compliance with supply adjustments by
Opec and some non-Opec producers supported
gains,” it said. In December, Opec agreed with
11 non-members, including Russia, to cut output
inthefirsthalfofthisyeartopush priceshigher.
MUSCAT
The Sultanate will rank higher on innovation
indices in the coming years, as funding for
research is expected to grow with a greater
contribution from private industry. Already
there has been a lead in renewable energy, water
treatment technology and enhanced oil
recovery.
“The good thing is that we are seeing industry
extend its hand to work closely with the
government and this will take the whole effort to
a much higher level than what we were doing
with government funding alone,” said The
Research Council Secretary General HE Dr
HilalAlHinai.
The Sultanate was ranked 73rd in the Global
Innovation Index 2016 and its spending on
research is less than 0.2 per cent of the Gross
DomesticProduct.
Research funding the world over was scarce and
in the UK for example “they have a target of 3
per cent of GDP, but were achieving 1.6 per
cent”.
“Governmentssupport basicresearch,whichis a
long-term risky investment whereas a lot of
applied research is done by industry. The GCC
states are now aware of the importance of
investing in research and innovation. At the
same time industry is also sort of trying to put
more resources in this for the main reason of
profitability,”hesaid.
PARIS
Opec said on Tuesday oil producers had kept
their promise to cut output in accordance with a
landmarkdealdesignedtoliftpetroleumprices.
As a result, prices rose in February as last year’s
accord between Opec members and some non-
members gained traction, the Organisation of
On the trail of dirty
money
Transactions
through Invest
Easy
The Sultanate’s efforts to counter money
laundering are showing results and to take this
forward, further steps are imperative to evaluate
the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial
banks in preventing the menace, according to a
financialexpert.
A study conducted by Dr Abdusalam F Yahia,
economic expert at the Oman Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (OCCI), has made this
suggestion after analysing the efforts made by
the Sultanate over the past decades to fight
money laundering, including its laws and
regulationsandalsointernationalconventions.
Yahia says that the practice of money
laundering, though old, had evolved with time
and uses all professional and technical means
availabletoachievetheends ofthelaunderers.
It has a negative effect on society and the
economy and it affects the stability of states.The
Sultanate has played a leading role in the fight
against money laundering and it started with the
Law of Combating Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances of 1999 which makes it a crime to
launder proceeds of illegal drug money, as well
as trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances.Then a special law to combat money
laundering was issued as Royal Decree 34/2002,
which expanded the scope of laundering to
include the proceeds of any crime punishable by
law. This was followed by the Law of
Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism
Financing,RoyalDecree79/2010.

$٨ ٧b invested in
Mena green power
sector
Greenfield activities continue to dominate
power and utility transactions in across the
Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region,
attracting $8.7 billion of investment in 2016,
accordingtoanErnstandYoungreport.
The report ‘Power transactions and trends: 2016
review and 2017 outlook’ says mergers and
acquisitions in the renewables sector picked up
in 2016 across the region after a long period of
slow activity. Key investment announcements in
the last quarter of 2016 included the Kuwait
Fund for Arab Economic Development
coordinating a debt financing of $115.5 million
to set up a desalination plant in Egypt.
Additionally, in the UAE, consortium of lenders
including Islamic Development Bank, Natixis,
NationalBank ofAbu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank
invested $924 to build 800 MWMohammed Bin
RashidAlMaktoumSolarPVPhase III.
The UAE also saw new projects across coal,
nuclear, and solar, funded by both local and
Asian investors, to support its raised renewable
energy target from 24 per cent to 26 to help fight
climatechange.
Separately, Dubai launched a $27-billion green
fundtosupportglobalsustainabilityprojects.
MUSCAT
Stabilising oil prices, large international
sovereign debt issuances and lower credit
growth will improve funding conditions for
banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
over the next 12 months, according to a Moody’s
InvestorsServicereport.
Price stabilisation between $40-$60 per barrel
will improve oil revenues, supporting
government and corporate deposits in the
region’s banking systems. International debt
issuance will also support deposits, while slower
economic growth will subdue lending activity
andreducefundingpressures forbanks.
“Omani and Qatari banks will benefit the most
from easing funding conditions, followed by
banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates,”says analystMik Kabeya.
“However, Bahraini and Kuwaiti banks will
continue to have the strongest funding and
liquidityprofilesintheregion,”headded.
The report, an update to the markets, says Omani
and Qatari banks will benefit the most from the
expected easing of liquidity, since they have
been among the least resilient to a prolonged
periodoflowoilprices.
Funding conditions will stabilise for banks in the
UAE which have a net loans to deposits ratio of
94 per cent as of June 2016. The funding squeeze
experienced by Saudi banks since 2015 will ease,
given the government’s payment late in 2016 of
around $28 billion of overdue contractors bills
andMoody’s expectationoflowcreditgrowth.
Islamic banks to
outpace
conventional
peers in profits
Funding pressure
on GCC banks set
to ease this year
MUSCAT
The profitability of Islamic banks in the Gulf
cooperation Council (GCC) region will outpace
that of conventional peers for the second
consecutive year in 2017, according to a rating
agency.
This is on the back of stronger margins and
resilient cost of risk. Islamic banks became
more profitable than their conventional
counterpartsin2016aftertrailingforfiveyears.
“Islamic banks will be able to maintain their
profitability in 2017, as lower funding costs will
support their margins against a backdrop of
rising interest rates, while improvements in their
risk management and asset quality will further
ease the pressure on their cost of risk,” says
analyst and Moody’s assistant vice-president
NitishBhojnagarwala.
The Moody’s report, `GCC Banks: Islamic
banks to maintain higher profitability than
conventional peers’, says the stronger margins
in 2017, primarily as a result of their low
funding costs, reflect their reliance on largely
stable current and savings account balances.
Islamic banks also tend to have higher asset
yields, given their focus on retail and the real
estate-relatedlending.
Moody’s expects that Islamic banks will retain a
margin advantage of about 40 basis points over
conventional banks in 2017. The net profit
margins are analogous to conventional bank net
interestmargins.
Services:
Visa
Money Exchange
GSM & WhatsApp: +968 917 43 191
amir@muscat-it.com

Services:
Visa
Money Exchange
GSM & WhatsApp: +968 917 43 191
amir@muscat-it.com

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