HOME         WEBSITE         SUBSCRIBE           E-GREETINGS   
                               

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Omani Commerce & Industry Minister invites Indian businesses to explore opportunities in the tax haven nation

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. 

Blog Archive

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer - All investments in Mutual Funds and securities are subject to market risks and uncertainty of dividend distributions and the NAV of schemes may go up or down depending upon factors and forces affecting securities markets generally. The past performance of the schemes is not necessarily indicative of the future performance and may not necessarily provide a basis for comparison with other investments. Investors are advised to go through the respective offer documents before making any investment decisions. Prospective client(s) are advised to go through all comparable products in offer before taking any investment decisions. Mutual Funds and securities investments are subject to market risks and there is no assurance or guarantee that the objectives of the fund will be achieved. Information gathered & material used in this document is believed to be from reliable sources. Decisions based on the information provided on this newsletter/document are for your own account and risk.


In the preparation of the material contained in this document, Varun Vaid has used information that is publicly available, including information developed in-house. Some of the material used in the document may have been obtained from members/persons other than the Varun Vaid and which may have been made available to Varun Vaid. Information gathered & material used in this document is believed to be from reliable sources. Varun Vaid however does not warrant the accuracy, reasonableness and/or completeness of any information. For data reference to any third party in this material no such party will assume any liability for the same. Varun Vaid does not in any way through this material solicit any offer for purchase, sale or any financial transaction/commodities/products of any financial instrument dealt in this material. All recipients of this material should before dealing and or transacting in any of the products referred to in this material make their own investigation, seek appropriate professional advice.


Varun Vaid, shall not liable for any loss, damage of any nature, including but not limited to direct, indirect, punitive, special, exemplary, consequential, as also any loss of profit in any way arising from the use of this material in any manner. The recipient alone shall be fully responsible/are liable for any decision taken on the basis of this material. All recipients of this material should before dealing and/or transacting in any of the products referred to in this material make their own investigation, seek appropriate professional advice. The investments discussed in this material may not be suitable for all investors. Any person subscribing to or investigating in any product/financial instruments should do soon the basis of and after verifying the terms attached to such product/financial instrument. Financial products and instruments are subject to market risks and yields may fluctuate depending on various factors affecting capital/debt markets. Please note that past performance of the financial products and instruments does not necessarily indicate the future prospects and performance there of. Such past performance may or may not be sustained in future. Varun Vaid, including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material may; (a) from time to time, have long or short positions in, and buy or sell the securities mentioned herein or (b) be engaged in any other transaction involving such securities and earn brokerage or other compensation in the financial instruments/products/commodities discussed here in or act as advisor or lender / borrower in respect of such securities/financial instruments/products/commodities or have other potential conflict of interest with respect to any recommendation and related information and opinions. The said person may have acted upon and/or in a manner contradictory with the information contained here. No part of this material may be duplicated in whole or in part in any form and or redistributed without the prior written consent of Varun Vaid. This material is strictly confidential to the recipient and should not be reproduced or disseminated to anyone else.


Varun Vaid also does not take any responsibility for the contents of the advertisements published. Readers are advised to verify the contents on their own before acting there upon.


Published Credits goes to following sources & all the mentioned sources as footer below the published material- Bloomberg, Valueresearch Online, Capital Market, Navindia, Franklin Templeton, Kitco, SBI AMC, LIC AMC, JM Financial AMC, HDFC AMC, The Hindu, Business Line, Personal FN, Economic Times, Reuters, Outlook Money, Business Standard, Times of India etc.