SULTANATE OF OMAN

Capital of Oman – Muscat

Population – 776,000

Area – 309,500 sqkm

Type of government – Monarchy

Independence - 1650

+968

Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world. The

state used to be known as the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman,
but the name was officially changed to Oman in 1970 by Sultan
Qaboos bin Said.

The country shares land borders with the United Arab

Emirates , Saudi Arabia , and Yemen and shares marine
borders with Iran and Pakistan.

The climate of Oman can be described as dry & hot, with the
exception of Dhofar region, which has a light monsoon climate
and receives cool winds from the Indian Ocean. Rainfall is
extremely rare but when it happens it brings extreme floods
causing lots of destruction.
1507 – Portugese sack muscat and capture Omani coast, driven
out in 1650.

1737 – Persians invade, 1749 Persians are driven out and The Al
Bu Said dynasty comes to power and continues to rule to this
day.
However like any other country even Oman had to go through
the internal crisis due to different reasons. Rebellion in the
southern region of Dhofar started in 1965 – 75.

This rebellion which lasted for a decade gave birth to Qaboos

Bin Said the current ruler.
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said came to power after overthrwoing his
father, Opened up the entire country of Oman Created
Economic reforms and boosted spending on health, education
and welfare by reorganizing and modernizing the Military he
was able to defeat the Dhofar Crisis and began concentrating
on development and other issues.

They have their consultative assembly elections in October

2019.

1964 – Oil reserves were discovered. Extraction began only in

1967.

Oman is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League,

the Gulf Cooperation Council,

Despite its oil wealth, Oman is not a member of OPEC

(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)

In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme ranked
Oman as the most improved nation in the world in terms of
development during the preceding 40 years.

Oman is a high income country that generates 84 percent of its

revenue from dwindling oil resources. Apart from that its
economy involves tourism and trade of fish, dates

Omans currency is Omani Riyal which is currently the third

highest valued currency in the world.

Business Hours: Most businesses are open from 9am to 1pm

and 4pm to 9pm. Weekend starts on Thursday afternoon &
Friday.

Oman is set to introduce a value-added tax (VAT), along with

other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries. The

implementation date is expected to be after 1 January 2020.

VAT = 5%.

Corporate tax: 15% (a lower tax rate of 3% has been

introduced for companies whose registered capital is below

OMR 50,000, average number of employee does not exceed

 15 and have a gross income less than 100,000 OMR)

The Sultanate of Oman has had extraordinary economic

development since 2004, primarily of its oil reserves.

However, growth rates declined in recent years as a result

of the drop in global oil prices, but also a slowdown in

household consumption. This trend was accentuated in

2017, when the GDP recorded a negative growth (-0.9%).

However, in 2018 the economy returned to expand at a rate

of 1.9%, thanks mainly to a rise in hydrocarbon prices

which represent 60% of export revenues and three-

quarters of budget revenues.

9 ports

Port Of Sohar.

•Port Sultan Qaboos.

•Port of Al-Wajajah (Wajajah)
•Port of Duqm.
•Port of Khasab.
•Port of Mina al Fahal.
•Port of Muscat.
•Port of Qalhat.
Future of Oman's Economy – Vision 2020

Oman's government has created a plan for sustainable

development that is less dependent on an oil-based economy.

This plan aims to ensure that the manufacturing and industrial

sectors contribute at least 15% of the nation's GDP by the year

2020.

1. Diversification of the sources of National Income.

2. Enable the private sector to participate in development

of national economy.

3. Activate market forces and competition.

4. increase effeciency in deployment of resources.

5. Development and enforcement of capital market.

So having said that, as oil & gas prices should remain high,

the IMF forecasts a 5% growth for 2019.