The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) amended some provisions of Ministerial Resolution 209/2020 specifying the list of activities in which foreign investment is prohibited, and limiting it to Omani investors only.
This decision is consistent with Article 14 of the Foreign Capital Investment Law issued by Royal Decree 50/2019, which stipulates that “a list of activities in which foreign investment is prohibited shall be issued by a decision of the Minister.”
The decision strikes a balance between attracting quality investments and encouraging entrepreneurial projects in light of the government's priority to empowering small and medium enterprises that enhance the Omani economy, and an incentive for Omanis to establish their projects and create new job opportunities for citizens.
The decision added 28 items to the activities designated for Omani investors only and prohibited foreign investors from practicing them, bringing the total number to (123) activities specific to Omanis. Article Two of the Ministerial Resolution indicated that everything that contradicts this resolution or conflicts with its provisions shall be canceled.
The new prohibited activities are: making handicraft products by distilling flowers and herbs, making handicraft products to produce frankincense water and oil, making handicraft products from leather, making handicraft products from palm leaves, making handicraft products from wood, making and preparing incense, making handicraft products for cosmetics and perfumes, making handicraft products from pottery and porcelain, making handicraft products from stone and gypsum, making handicraft products from silver, making handicraft products from copper and metals, making handicraft products from aluminum, making handicraft products for traditional hunting tools, and making handicraft products derived from bones.
The decision also included activities of skin care services, rental of event supplies and furniture, retail sale in specialized stores for scrap building materials (including scrap iron trade), retail sale in specialized stores for drinking water (excluding production and transportation), cultivation of live plants for planting and decoration purposes and seedlings (nurseries), sale of used vehicles, mobile café, freshwater fish farming, provision of mailbox rental services, public clerks' services, Sand Service Center, management and operation of liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) filling stations, collection of batteries and used oils, and grocery stores.
It may be noted that the provisions of the Foreign Capital Investment Law apply to every non-Omani natural or legal person who establishes an investment project in the Sultanate of Oman by enabling his capital and assets to develop economically feasible investment projects for the Sultanate, as the Foreign Capital Investment Law contributes to providing an attractive investment environment for investors and creating appropriate conditions for investment in light of the competition of countries around the world to attract investments by granting incentives, privileges and guarantees that contribute to the stability of foreign investments in the Sultanate of Oman.
The Foreign Capital Investment Law also granted foreign investment projects the right to enjoy all the advantages, incentives, and guarantees enjoyed by the national project by the laws in force in the Sultanate of Oman.
Foreign ownership in companies is permitted at a rate of up to 100% based on the Foreign Capital Investment Law, and the foreign investor is allowed to invest in more than 2,000 commercial or industrial activities.
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