Oman and Japan have agreed to set up a joint $400 million fund that will invest in food and agribusiness industries, Omani officials said in a recent statement.
The Gulf Japan Food Fund will be owned 37.5 percent by Oman’s State General Reserve Fund. State-run Oman National Investments Development Co and Gulf Investment Corp, owned by the six GCC states, will hold a combined 12.5 percent.
The fund will facilitate direct investment in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states by Japanese food and agribusiness firms, ranging from grains and feed to vegetables, milk and dairy products, logistics and research firms, they said, aiming to spend at least 35 percent of the money in Oman.
Japan’s Mizuho Bank and Norinchukin Bank will provide the remaining half of the capital.
Oman is trying to diversify its economy beyond oil, using state funds in international ventures that steer investment and technology back to Oman.