Home    News    Oman News

Macki rules out economic crisis in Sultanate

MUSCAT — Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of national economy and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, has ruled out any direct impact of the global financial crisis on the national economy, attributing the current decline in Muscat Securities Market (MSM) to investors’ worries and speculations on the crisis.

Although a sizeable number of countries declared suspension of some of their investments and economic projects, and laying off a great number of employees in major companies, the Omani government announced continuing with the ongoing projects, signed a number of agreements for building bridges, roads, residential cities, factories, purchase of ships, oil and gas tankers, establishing new airports which are all worth million of Omani rials.

Macki has underlined the government’s keenness to stabilise the Omani economy. He said that the investment, infrastructural and strategic projects being implemented by the government are being supported by the government. Within the framework of a diversified economy based on exports, the Sultanate sought to tap its natural resources, especially the natural gas, and increasing their added value. Such efforts had been culminated by signing agreements for establishing a number of mega industrial projects at a number of industrial estates in Sohar, Raysut, Rusayl, Sur, and Duqm.

The above was coupled by expediting implementation of a number of legal procedures so as to improve the investment environment and lure foreign investments. In this connection, implementation of a number of joint ventures with Arab and foreign governments and companies had been initiated. Some tourism and economic ventures will be unveiled soon which will boost the economic resources and create employment opportunities for Omanis.

The diversified economic policies and wise directives of His Majesty the Sultan to specify projects all over the Sultanate so as to achieve their integration, have played a significant role to limit the impact of global financial crisis on the Sultanate. As such, a number of banks’ officials in the Sultanate affirmed that the crisis so far had no direct tangible impact on the banking sector.

The banking operations are functioning well, liquidity including deposits and assets with the commercial banks is sufficient to meet the demand of the various banking operations.

Naturally, such advantages will encourage foreign investors to invest in the Sultanate. This had been explored and discussed by a number of Arab and foreign officials during their recent visit to the Sultanate.

The chairman of the Russian Federal Council and the Swedish trade minister have proposed a number of joint economic and trade projects with Oman.

Since the beginning of the blessed Renaissance, the nation’s development had been focused on the themes of human resources, developing natural resources, establishing the infrastructure and state of institutions.

The Seventh Five-Year Development Plan 2006-2010 has been ongoing. It marks the shifting of the Omani economy to wide horizons.

Joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2002, had been an important step for the Sultanate for merger in the global economy, and opened up wide routes for the Omani exports to the foreign markets. Also, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by the Sultanate and the USA will provide the Omani products an access to the USA markets, besides attracting further investment to the Sultanate.