Oman to Tackle Unemployment Problem with Money from Oil Windfall Profits

An unnamed source has revealed that in response to a windfall in oil revenue in Oman over the past six months the Sultanate has decided to spend about $1 billion in additional monies to create jobs for its citizens over the coming year.

"We had a very good income from oil revenues in the first six months of the year," an official from Oman’s planning department told the press. "Not only do we expect to comfortably balance the budget, but we will use $1 billion of that windfall to create jobs in the next 12 months from September."

The official did not detail any specifics of the plan, such as how the money will be spent or whether the jobs will be concentrated in the public or private sector, or both.

Oman, which is not associated with OPEC, revealed at the beginning of August that the government collected 35 percent more in revenue than over the same time last year. The take for the first six months reached $19.1 billion due to the influence of surging oil prices and increased production.

The increase in revenue resulted in a bulge in the government’s budget surplus amounting to 1.61 billion rials, which was four times the surplus of the preceding year.

There is an unemployment problem in Oman which the Sultanate would like to address. According to the manpower ministry there are about 22,000 Omani citizens who are in search of jobs, out of a total of 2 million of employable Omanis.

"About 15,000 graduates are looking for jobs this summer and the rest, from that figure of 22,000, are a backlog of jobless who have not found jobs since the beginning of the year," the official from the manpower ministry said.

The International Monetary Fund, using census data taken in 2010, has estimated the unemployment rate in Oman to be about 24.4 percent. According the IMF Oman will need to create 45,000 new private sector jobs per year to absorb all the new workers emerging each year, and to lower the unemployment rate to a reasonable amount. The IMF admitted that it could also be possible that the number it used for its unemployment figure may also include people who are not looking for jobs.

Importers Agree to Price Freeze on Livestock During Ramadan

Sheep for Feast of Eid al Fitr

A spokesman for Al Batina Livestock, a leading importer of Australian livestock into Oman, announced that his company will adhere to the request of the government to refrain from any price hikes during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Sultanate is working hard to keep food prices during Ramadan under control, and a key element in stable prices is a price freeze on the cost of meat. Al Batna has agreed to maintain their prices at the present level until at least after the Eid al Fitr holiday.

"We agreed to cap our prices at last year's retail selling price of RO 90 per head of Australian sheep as a gesture of support for the government's efforts to rein in food prices during Ramadan," the representative said.

Job Opportunities Exploding in UAE and Other Gulf States

Sanjay Modi, Managing Director of Monster.com

Over the course of the past year available jobs as listed on the internet has soared in the UAE by 33 percent. The figure, which was announced by the monthly Monster Employment Index, is based on online job posting activity which the index tracks in 12 leading industry sectors in the six GGC countries and in Egypt.

June’s Monster Index shows that the UAE leads the rest in the increase in online job postings over the past twelve months, while Kuwait followed closely with a 30 percent increase in job opportunities from June 2011 until June 2012. Qatar was tracked with a 23 percent gain.

Overall the increase was even more impressive, growing by an incredible 39 percent annually. Only Saudi Arabia did not grow in the double digits, expanding by only 2 percent for the year in its online job opportunities.

In Egypt job openings posted online surged by 15 percent, while in Bahrain and Oman online job listings increased by 18 and 20 percent respectively.

Xpress Money Offering Lower Fees to Expat Indians

Xpress Money Offering Flat Fee to Expat Indians in Oman

In honor of the festive month of Ramadan, Xpress Money, a company that facilitates cash transfers overseas, will be lowering their service fee to the flat amount of 1.70 Omani Rial ($4.40) for transfers of any denomination made to India during the Holy month.

Xpress Money is one of the world’s fastest growing cash transfer service companies, and this new flat fee is considered to be the most competitive among the other remittance service providers in Oman.

"The Holy Month of Ramadan is very special to us and we are happy to launch this special promotion which will be of great value to our customers. This initiative falls in line with our commitment to provide affordable and easily accessible money transfer services" said Mr. Sudhesh Giriyan, the chief of Xpress Money.

"India is a critical market for us. Apart from being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, it is also the largest 'receive' market globally, with inward remittances upwards of USD 64 billion in 2011. Since it is such a high volume market, we are tapping into the efficiencies of scale that our extensive networks in Oman and India can generate and passing on the savings to our customers" Giriyan added.

Standard and Poors Changes Oman’s Rating Upward

Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services has re-examined its rating of Oman and decided to change its evaluation from what had been a negative rating to an improved, positive one. The agency explained its new opinion of the Sultanate in the following manner:

“The outlook revision reflects our view that political reforms and economic measures are helping address popular demands and restoring stability to the domestic environment. The ratings are supported by Oman’s substantial net external and general government asset positions and prudent investment policies, and constrained by, in our view, a heavy dependence on hydrocarbons, political risk, and a challenging demographic profile — 60 per cent of the Omani population is under the age of 25 (source: 2010 census data). Oman, similar to other sovereigns in the Gulf Cooperation Council, is subject to geopolitical risk. This is somewhat mitigated by the country’s strong alliances with international powers, as well as its ability to maintain a neutral and independent stance in the region.”

The S&P is hoping to see other reforms as well, which will add to the economic strength and stability of Oman. Among the changes the S&P would like to see are some intitiatives that the Omani government has already begun to put into place, such as wage increases and the promise to create as many as 75,000 new jobs.

“We expect a significant share of these to be generated in the public sphere. According to our base-case scenario, we anticipate that social spending will rise during 2012-2015, but that the government’s resources will be sufficient to manage this increase without incurring a weakening in its fiscal buffers,”

officials for the ratings agency said.

Bank Nizwa Hopeful of Success Soon

The Chief Executive Officer of Bank Nizwa, Jamil Al Jaroudi, is hoping that the bank will be able to post a profit within two and one half years of launching operations, which is planned for the coming month.

"We aim to make our first profit in 2014 though we would like to make it happen sooner in the first year of our operation but that may not be possible,” Jaroudi said in an interview.

The board will be elected when the shareholders meet this coming July 31st, Jaroudi added.

"We will start our operation two weeks after that with three branches, in Nizwa, Sohar and Muscat. Eighteen months after the start of our operation, we hope to open about seven branches nationwide,” Jaroudi also said.

Bank Nizwa is the first bank in Oman run according to Islamic law. Nizwa’s initial public offering raised RO 681 million ($1.77 billion) in bids, 11-fold the amount that it sought to raise, reflecting the powerful interest the enterprise has for investors.

Jaroudi was happy for the over-subscription to the IPO from investors, and commented that it was a positive indication that the bank will be successful. He mentioned that he hoped that the returned funds will be used as deposits in the bank by their new and loyal customers.

“It shows that we are well placed and there's a healthy appetite for a fully-fledged Islamic bank in Oman,” Jaroudi added.

Oman Air Adding Daily Flight to Tehran

Oman Air Adding Flights to Tehran

Beginning on September 1st Oman’s national air carrier, Oman Air, will begin servicing the Iranian capital of Tehran with a daily flight from Muscat. There were will be two departure times: 2am three days per week; and 9:30am four days per week. Return flights will also be offered in two time slots; 6:10am three days; and 12:40pm on four days.

Wayne Pearce, CEO of Oman Air announced the new flight, saying,

"We are extremely pleased to be launching our new service between Muscat and Tehran and to be offering customers the opportunity to travel aboard our outstanding Embraer 175 regional jets. Tehran offers visitors the opportunity to gain insights into not only Iran's unique culture, but also its rich and ancient history. Furthermore, Tehran is a major business hub and we anticipate strong demand from both business and leisure passengers.”

Omani and Korean Leaders Meet to Discuss Aquaculture Development in Oman

South Korean Minister of Food and Agriculture Suh Kyu-yong

In order to boost foreign investment in Oman’s burgeoning fisheries industry, His Excellency Dr Fuad bin Ja’afar al Sajwani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries met with the South Korean Minister of Food and Agriculture Suh Kyu-yong along with representatives from several South Korean companies.

Last Friday’s meeting is part of an overall effort by the Sultanate’s government to attract international companies into Oman to develop the fisheries industry by providing a supportive climate for businesses to take hold in Oman, especially those with previous success in processing, ports-of-entry management and fish farming industries, such as South Korea.

Sajwani said that, "The meeting discussed promotion of relations between the two countries in the fisheries sector through reviewing available investment opportunities and facilities provided to investors in this field, especially in the new fishing port in Duqm and other establishments in industrial zones."

His Excellency Dr Hamed bin Said al Awfi, the undersecretary of fisheries said that the development of “aquaculture” is a key ingredient in diversifying the Omani economy away from its present enormous dependence on oil and gas.

Awfi said that, "The world will need 40 million tons of additional fish by 2025, which will drive the need to develop aquaculture."

Economic Forum for 2012 Begins in Muscat

Sunday marked the opening day of the third annual Oman Economic Forum. Sponsored and organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Economy and Business Group, an expected attendance of 500 participants is expected.

The advisor to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Mehsin Al-Blooshi said that the forum was expecting representatives from the investing, business, oil, energy, commerce and other industries, with such leaders as former British Premier Tony Blair and former Lebanese leader Fouad Al Sanyoura also participating.

Among the many issues that will be discussed and explored during the forum are plans for the development of new projects and infrastructure, and private sector projects. They will also explore ways to increase investment opportunities in the energy, alternative energy and water sectors and developing ports and free trade zones, according to Al-Blooshi.

Omantel Lowering Rates for Mobile Calls

Saleem Ahmed Abdullatif

Omantel Mobile announced on Sunday that they will be drastically reducing their prices for local and international outgoing calls for their Mada and Hayak subscribers.

According to a press release the new rates will begin at 14.5 bz/min for local calls and for international calls the cost will be 42.5 bz/min. Those rates will apply to any four numbers the customer chooses and they add to their Family and Friends package.

More than seventy overseas locations will be included in the new rate package, including GCC countries, the Indian subcontinent, as well as many European, American, Asian and Arab countries.
Saleem Ahmed Abdullatif, the general manager of marketing at Omantel’s consumer business unit stated that:

“In the new Family and Friends offer, we addressed the needs of our subscribers who are looking for the best rates on local and international calls.

"The offer is an additional option besides the recent cuts on international calls, which provide permanent reduced rates to various countries of the world starting from 65bz for calls made from fixed lines and 85bz for calls from mobile phones."

"The new discounts provide great low rates offered by the company to its subscribers for the first time in the sultanate." He said that international calls to most countries start at 42.5bz/min while local calls for Mada-3 and prepaid Hayyak subscribers start at 14.5bz/min and 19.5bz/ per minute respectively.

"Mada postpaid and Hayyak prepaid subscribers shall enjoy the new rates immediately when they make local or international calls after selecting their four favourite numbers. Moreover, discounted rates continue all day and night.

"Hayyak prepaid customers willing to avail this offer can call 1239 and follow the instructions while Mada customers can register their family and friends list by simply sending an SMS to 90098 in the following format (A*9xxxxxxx), as for international calls, country codes need to be added before the desired number," Abdullatif stated.