Muscat, Oman’s capital. Credits: A Jellema/Shutterstock.

FDI in Oman reached $70.48bn in 2022, according to the country’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The total was up by 8.2% compared with 2021 figures when the country recorded $65.17bn in FDI inflows. Companies from abroad invested approximately $39.80bn in the oil and gas sectors, followed by investments in financial brokerage activity ($14.44bn) and converting industries ($6.16bn).

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According to officials in Muscat, the UK topped the list of countries with FDI in Oman ($24.99bn), while the US ($9.57bn) and China ($2.70bn) came second and third, respectively.

FDI outflows were much lower, with Omani investors choosing to invest $13.99bn abroad in 2022, compared with $15.64bn in 2021.

News about Omani FDI inflows follows the launch by the country of a $5.2bn Future Fund for investors from abroad and small and medium enterprises.

In recent years, Oman has stepped up efforts to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels. In 2019, the government in Muscat introduced a new foreign capital investment law (the New FCIL), which allows investors from abroad to conduct any commercial activity in or from Oman without having a legal entity or local commercial agent.

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As a result, the number of FDI projects reached 235 between 2019 and 2023, GlobalData’s FDI Projects Database shows.

“Oman is on a progressive path in terms of inbound FDI,” says Glenn Barklie, head of FDI Services at GlobalData. “We are seeing a general uptick in inbound greenfield investments, particularly in logistics and construction. Tourism investments are also holding strong.”

According to Barklie, in 2023, Oman received almost the same number of investments as Israel as the latter’s investments plummeted in the second half of 2023 in light of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“Oman is now the fifth-largest destination market in the Middle East by number of greenfield projects. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the leading inbound recipients in the region,” Barklie further notes.