Foreign direct investment in Oman touches OMR7b

Muscat: Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Sultanate at the end of third quarter of 2016 exceeded OMR7.02 billion, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Sector wise, the oil and gas exploration attracted foreign investment of more than OMR3.02 billion, while financial intermediation secured FDI of OMR1.39 billion. The FDI in the manufacturing sector reached OMR986.4 million. Real estate and business activities received OMR622.2 million of foreign investment by the end of the third quarter. Other sectors together reported around OMR999.2 million, the NCSI release said.
The United Kingdom tops the list of investors in Oman, with a foreign direct investment of OMR2.797 billion, followed by the UAE at OMR924.8 million and Kuwait at OMR396.1 million in foreign investment.
The other major countries on the list include Qatar (OMR314.8 million), Bahrain (OMR302.6million), India (OMR298.9 million), Netherlands (OMR230.6 million), the US (OMR215.6 million), and Switzerland (OMR178.2 million).
Also, FDI for the first nine months of 2016 alone stood at OMR154 million.