On August 7, the Oman News Agency (ONA) announced that Oman's Future Fund Oman (FFO) performed strongly in its first operating year (2024), approving a total of 44 projects with a total investment of 1.2 billion riyals (about US$3.1 billion), of which FFO's own contribution was 333 million riyals, and the remaining 885 million riyals came from international investors. This achievement highlights the confidence of global capital in Oman's economic transformation, and the deep participation of Chinese projects in new energy, digital economy and other fields has become a highlight.

Chinese capital leads new energy investment

Driven by Oman's "renewable energy first" policy, Chinese companies have become key players. Among them, United Solar Polysilicon Plant (United Solar Polysilicon Plant) received an investment of $156 million from FFO, which is located in the Sohar Free Zone with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons, and will become the first and world's leading polysilicon production base in the Middle East after completion, accounting for 4.4% of the global market share. Oman Investment Authority (OIA) President Murshidi said the project will help Oman build a complete renewable energy industry chain.

In addition, Qinneng Optoelectronics has cooperated with local enterprises to plan the construction of 8GW photovoltaic modules and 2GW cell production capacity bases, and the Manah II photovoltaic project contracted by China Energy Construction Shanxi Institute has also been launched, which directly supports Oman's target of 30% renewable energy generation by 2030.

Deepening cooperation between the digital economy and funds

FFO actively joins hands with Chinese capital to lay out high-tech fields, such as jointly establishing the US$200 million "IDG Oman Fund" with IDG Capital, focusing on information technology, new energy and electric vehicles; The US$250 million EWTP Oman Fund was established in partnership with Yida Capital, focusing on ICT, agriculture, energy and tourism, aiming to connect China with the Gulf market. The China-Arab Industrial Park project in the Doukum Special Economic Zone is also being promoted, with a total investment of 67 billion yuan, covering manufacturing, energy, e-commerce and other fields, becoming a model for the docking of the "Belt and Road" and Oman's "Vision 2040".

The dividends of reform have attracted Chinese capital to continue to increase

Oman has introduced a series of facilitation measures in recent years, including a new investment law that allows foreign investors to wholly control most industries, the "Invest in Oman" digital platform to simplify the approval process, and the reduction of the list of industries prohibited from foreign investment to 123. China's direct investment in Oman reached US$3.45 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 27.8%, indicating that the potential of China-Arab cooperation continues to be released.

Traditional energy and emerging strategies develop in tandem

Chinese companies are also active in the traditional energy sector. The MARSA LNG project undertaken by Sinochem No. 3 Construction recently started construction and will become one of the LNG plants with the lowest carbon intensity in the world in the future, promoting the upgrade of Sohar Port to an LNG bunkering hub in the Middle East.

Outlook: China-Arab cooperation is moving towards high-quality development

Oman's "Vision 2040" is highly compatible with China's "Belt and Road" initiative, and the cooperation between the two sides in the fields of clean energy, digital technology, and port logistics has been deepening. FFO plans to create more than 1,600 local jobs in the next five years and accelerate economic diversification. With the release of reform dividends and the implementation of Chinese-funded projects, Oman is becoming an important fulcrum for Chinese companies to enter the Middle East and North Africa market.(This article is from the official website of Jiandao www.seetao.com it must not be reprinted without permission, otherwise it will be investigated, please indicate the reprint of Jiandao.com + original link) See the Middle East column editor/Gao Xue