The Sultanate of Oman
Context
Can or should any western company
try to go there for the first time,
and can they hope to prosper?
Sultanate of Oman Overview
• Country of contrasts, rich in history
• 43 years ago Oman was a backwater, ruled over by Sultan
Said bin Taimur, a man more comfortable with the past
than the future
• Since 1970, HM Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id al-Sa’id has
overseen and managed an extraordinary renaissance
• In 2011, the UN recognised Oman as having developed
more in the last forty years than any other country in the
world
• If an Omani is over 50, childhood memories must seem to
be of a different country: a few miles of metalled road, no
real schools, hospitals, public utilities or industry.....
Economy
• Welcoming business environment with less bureaucracy than most other
regional countries
• HM actively encourages FDI and expatriates - who in turn benefit from a
benign business environment
• HM The Sultan’s directives are based on the Oman 2020 vision. This aims to
reduce reliance on oil and gas by 18%.
• Still heavily dependent on hydrocarbons: BP, Shell, PDO all active
• Attempts being made to diversify both the economy and energy sources
• Ports – Duqm: multi £B port, SEZ, and industrial city project that will
initially house 60,000 people
• Railway running north to south and across the region from Kuwait to Yemen
• Improve Road Infrastructure and links
• Promote tourism
So What?
• Demographic and economic pressures will push the pace of development
and investment, creating very respectable market opportunities
• Business will be more expensive, but also bigger and more profitable.
• Infrastructure, private health care and education, consumer goods,
housing and leisure facilities will boom.
• The development of downstream industries and major infrastructure and
tourism projects will benefit investors and contractors who are willing to
do the work - and understand where they are working.
Stability and Security
• Politically stable
• Oman is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Sultan and his
appointed government
• Slow but steady diversification of the political decision making
authorities: bicameral Council of Oman acts as an advisory body
• In 2003, HM granted universal suffrage for the lower chamber
(Majlis al-Shura) elections to all male and female adults over the age
of 21
• Excellent security apparatus: ROP, ISS, Royal Office, well-trained
armed forces, Royal Guard and SSF
• Difficult area for extremists to operate
Regional Politics
• Iran - close
• Saudi Arabia – volatile
• Yemen - careful
• UAE - complex
• GCC - independent
Social
• Quiet progress since 1970 – more integrated society than elsewhere
• Religious tolerance
• HM the Sultan has proved to be an enduring and genuinely loved
and popular leader - two somewhat uncommon attributes for the
region
• Succession planning
• Tolerant, extremely friendly society
• Probably the happiest expatriates in the Gulf
Conclusion
"I am working for Oman - the country
and its people...for me it is a delight to
see my country and my people in the
situation I imagined from the very
first day I assumed power. I feel that I
am a man with a mission rather than
a man with authority.”
HM Qaboos bin Sa’id