Ithraa signs pact to attract inward investment in Oman

21/04/2015 00:32 AST

Attracting inward investment is a national priority and on Monday Ithraa and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that takes Oman's efforts to attract and facilitate inward investment to a new height.

The MoU has been designed to improve Oman's business climate by streamlining inward investment processes and simplifying regulations for inward investors. The agreement grants Ithraa the authority to manage inward investment of OMR10 million and above.

All future Ithraa-managed inward investment applications will be processed through MoCI's newly-launched Invest Easy e-service. Almost every country around the world has made attracting inward investment a top priority, but making it a priority and delivering it effectively can be two very different things.

Promoting Oman's offer, emphasising its economic, business and lifestyle strengths to prospective inward investors, securing a commitment and closing the deal may appear easy.

However, in practice, securing the kind of inward investment that provides Oman with long-lasting, sustainable growth and genuine prosperity requires a more nuanced approach. This thinking that has brought Ithraa and MoCI together to sign Monday's agreement.

"Inward investment has played an important role in helping diversify Oman's economy and creating large numbers of jobs in growth sectors. Working closely with MoCI we look to attract more new international firms to the sultanate, building on the successes of recent years, particularly in manufacturing, tourism and energy.

Providing inward investors with easy to use government-to-business services is a top priority for Ithraa and MoCI," commented Dr Salem Ben Nasser Al Ismaily, Chairman, Ithraa.

"Today's MoU signing sends a clear message to the international business community that Oman is making every effort to streamline regulations and permitting processes for inward investors, easing the administrative burden and reducing the time it takes to register a new business," remarked Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce & Industry. Through its long-standing partnership with Oman's free zones, ports, industrial estates and technology parks, Ithraa is in a strong position to help inward investors realize their ambitions.

Times of Oman