Oman offers no restrictions on the repatriation of capital or
profits, up to 10 year exemption of corporate tax, up to 100% foreign
ownership, customs exceptions for machinery and materials used for
manufacturing and no personal income tax. Highlighting these
business-friendly investment incentives Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy,
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of Sultanate of Oman,
invited Indian businessmen to his country.
The Omani Minister is leading a large and high-level delegation,
reflecting the high priority accorded to the long-standing relationship
between the Sultanate of Oman and India, and the desire to continue
building the strategic partnership between the two friendly countries.
With this as the focus the India-Oman Joint Business Council Meeting was
organized by FICCI.
Dr. Sunaidy said, “According to our National Center for Statistics and
Information, our two countries have witnessed a surge in bilateral trade
in 2013; crossing the landmark figure of US$ 6 billion compared to
approximately US$ 3.9 billion in 2012. Today, there is a prominent
Indian presence in both Oman's economy and society. Indian companies
have sought to capitalize on the lucrative market opportunities in
Oman's economy as it continues to rapidly grow and develop. Indian
investors have managed to secure prestigious contracts with in Oman,
formed joint ventures with leading Omani-based companies, and
established wholly owned subsidiaries to serve the growing local and
regional markets.”
“Oman also has something that distinguishes us from the vast majority of
other nations, a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. As a key
global export destination for India, Indian firms could also benefit
significantly from establishing operations in Oman to capitalize on the
access we provide to the lucrative US market,” said Dr. Sunaidy.
He added that Oman has historically depended on oil, gas, and mineral
resources, but diversification is now a high priority and there are many
investment opportunities for Indian companies in Oman's non-hydrocarbon
sectors. There are four in particular, transportation, manufacturing,
information and communication technologies and healthcare that can play
to the comparative advantages and strengths of both the nations.
Mr. Hamed Saif Al-Rawahi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to India,
said, “We have numerous and wide fields of cooperation between our two
countries. There are fields for commercial, investment and industrial
cooperation which are being utilized in small and medium
enterprises/institutions, transformative and handicraft industries,
information technology and training. It is also utilized in different
fields, for example, petrol, gas, fertilizers and petrochemicals, food
security and transportation and communications, higher education related
to scholarship between the two countries, in addition to cooperation in
intellectual fields.”
Mr. J S Mukul, Indian Ambassador to Sultanate of Oman, said that there
were over 1,500 Indo-Omani joint ventures and 140 Indian companies
actively operating in Oman. Estimates for the last year indicate that
Indian companies have secured contracts worth US$ 1.25 billion. The
bilateral trade between the countries has been balanced which shows that
India and Oman have partnered in each other's economic growth. However,
business relations in all verticals have remained well below potential
and there was an urgent need to relook at the areas that can be
harnessed for maximizing benefits for the two countries. He added that
Oman has emerged as a modern economy having a world-class infrastructure
and India could partner with Oman fruitfully in infrastructure sector.
Mr. Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI, said, “The Indian Government has
identified 25 sectors as priority areas where we would like to see
intense development and growth. In the months ahead, you would see the
entire policy framework being fine-tuned to cater to the growth
requirements of these sectors. The list includes many areas where
businesses from Oman have shown keen interest. Chemicals,
petrochemicals, textiles, food processing, electrical equipment and
machinery are a few of them. I would therefore re-iterate that firms
from Oman look up the opportunities here.”
Mr. Birla added that the free economic zones in Salalah, Sohar and Duqum
can complement some of India's SEZs and NIMZs to boost trade and joint
investments. Some of the other areas where we can effectively partner
are healthcare, education, IT and telecom. There are opportunities on
both sides.
He stated, “Your quest for higher returns match with our requirements
for long term funding and we can work out a win-win engagement model. In
this building, we house Invest India, which is the official Investment
Promotion Agency of the Government of India. FICCI is a joint venture
partner in this concern and I request you to leverage upon the resources
available with Invest India to evaluate investment opportunities in
infrastructure sector.”
During the Joint Business Council Meeting, some of the members of the
visiting delegation showcased presentations on the India-Oman Roadshow.
On the occasion, a financial closure document was also exchanged between Jindal Steel and Bank Muscat.
