MUSCAT, JUNE 11
Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has reported significant growth in the values of the investment portfolios of its strategic joint ventures that it oversees in partnership with key countries around the world.
To date, there are seven strategic joint ventures in operation between Oman and a number of friendly countries, including Qatar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Brunei Darussalam. They continue to play an important role in strengthening economic cooperation, investment and technology transfer between the two sides.
Among the oldest is Oman-India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), which has added a third fund to capitalise on the performance of the first two. Fund III was approved last year by the Indian JV partner, the State Bank of India (SBI) with a fund of $300 million. It seeks to build on the success of Fund I, which generated an IRR of 6% as of September 2023. Fund II’s IRR topped 17% as of September 2023.
Also noteworthy is Al Hosn Investment Company, an Omani-Qatari JV, with a portfolio of 14 investments totaling RO 139 million in value (as of September 20, 2023). The JV focuses on “using its portfolio to create strategic value and improve returns for shareholders”, said OIA in its 2023 Annual Report.
Equally significant is Vietnam-Oman Investment, which has approved an allocation of $100 million for investment in public equity, IPO subscription, and pre-listing, in addition to investment in private equity. Of this figure, $34.6 million has so far been pumped into five new public equity investments as of December 2023. Private equity portfolio projects focused on 13 investments, earning a 5.2% IRR and 1.75 times of the investment value as of June 2023, the Authority noted.
Uzbek-Oman Investment Company (UOIC) has grown its portfolio to 11 investments as of the end of 2023, having added three public equity investments and one financial services company last year. Pak Oman Investment Company posted net profits of $2.6 million in 2023, compared to $1.4 million for the same period in 2022.
Rounding off the list is the Spain Oman Private Equity Fund, which has spawned a second fund on the back of the success of the original fund. Of a total commitment of 100 million euro, OIA invested 85.9 million in the original equity fund. Since its establishment, the fund had invested in 11 investments divested from two in 2023, one of which returned 4.5 times the investment value, while the other returned 1.3 times the investment value.
Last year, OIA reached agreement with Spanish Sovereign Wealth Fund COFIDES to create a second fund of 102 million euro, with each partner contributing 50 million euro. Fund II has since commenced investment in leading Spanish companies.
Highlighting the performance of the strategic joint ventures during 2023, Abdulsalam al Murshidi, President – OIA, stated: “In concert with the government’s economic diplomacy to improve strategic partnerships with partner countries, we established the second Spain Oman Private Equity Fund to our strategic joint ventures, after the first fund achieved excellent results. We came to an agreement with Indian representatives to launch a third joint venture, after the first and second funds achieved rewarding returns on investment.”
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