Three major funding initiatives to drive economic diversification

MUSCAT: The 2024 State Budget introduces three major initiatives to support economic diversification in the Sultanate of Oman, Sultan Salim al Habsi, Minister of Finance, announced here on Monday, January 1, 2023.

Listing the three initiatives, Al Habsi said the first relates to the establishment of a specialized investment fund with a capital of RO 2 billion as a collaborative arrangement between the Ministry and Oman Investment Authority (OIA).

“The launch of a specialized investment fund, the Oman Future Fund, with a capital of two billion Omani Rials, aims to finance or enter into partnerships with the private sector and investors in viable investment projects in Oman's development sectors,” shared the Minister.

“This is done by distributing the funding across these sectors and not focusing on a specific sector. Additionally, 10 percent of the fund's capital is allocated for bold investments and projects of small and medium-sized enterprises.”

The second initiative centres on the establishment of a housing loan program with a total value of RO 1.9 billion in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, and Oman Housing Bank.

The program will aim to expedite the disbursal of subsidized housing loans for citizens on the waiting lists of the Housing Ministry and Oman Housing Bank – an initiative expected to provide over 60,000 loans.

Significantly, the program will result in an increase in real estate activity, enhance the flow of cash into the national economy, and support the development of local industries.

The third initiative involves increasing the capital of the Development Bank (previously known as the Oman Development Bank) to RO 500 million. “The capital of the Development Bank has been raised to five hundred million Omani Rials, and the maximum lending limit at the Development Bank has been increased from one million to five million Omani Rials. The scope has been extended beyond this limit for development projects with added value to the local economy in Oman's governorates,” Al Habsi added.