Private sector expected to witness growth in the aftermath of Covid

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic many workers were laid off from their jobs in the private sector during 2020-2021 in the Sultanate of Oman.

According to Dr Said bin Mohammed al Saqri, Minister of Economy, low demand and other reasons led to the loss of jobs and the exit of thousands of expatriate workers from the country.

"The years 2020 and 2021 are not a measure of the performance of the private sector due to the pandemic and the impact of that level was not expected by anyone in the world. The economy was affected, especially the private sector," said the minister in an interview on Oman TV.

While talking in a programme "With the Youth", Al Saqri said that the private sector is expected to witness major growth in the coming years.

"It will contribute to the development and performance of the various economic sectors and the growth in the gross domestic product (GDP). This will become an attractive sector for Omani job-seekers, indicating that the private sector is the largest employer for Omanis compared to the government sector", he said.

He said that the government is working on several programmes, including adding more in-country value with an aim to enhance the role of small and medium enterprises to benefit from the government projects.

The minister said that the government has recently issued a set of laws needed by the private sector, including the public-private partnership laws, privatisation and bankruptcy, and the new commercial law.

"The government is in the process of issuing a labour law. The incentives and facilities provided by the special economic zones and free zones will enable the sector to play its role in the next stage," he said.

The minister said that the volume of foreign investment in the country would increase in 2022.

"This confirms the interest of foreign companies to invest in the various sectors in the Sultanate of Oman and the favourable local investment environment," he said.

Al Saqri said that the development of the governorates is one of the priorities and strategic objectives of the tenth five-year plan, strengthening its role and supporting decentralisation. An amount of RO 20 million has been allocated to each governorate to be spent during the years of the plan.

@samkuttyvp