An overview of the importance of the industrial sector in boosting the national economy in the Sultanate, improving the business environment, increasing GDP and the contribution of the converting industries to attracting foreign investment.

Faisal Abdullah Al Rawas, the Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry has affirmed that the industrial sector is one of the most important economic sectors in Oman. It contributes to the growth of the national economy and the prosperity of the business environment in the country, he added.

In a statement marking Oman Industry Day which falls on 9 February every year, Al Rawas pointed out that Oman’s GDP increased at the end of the third quarter of 2022 by 30.4 per cent, and the total value added of non-oil activities reached RO20.8bn, up by 14.9 per cent.

He added that the statistics indicate an increase in the value-added rate of industrial activities at the end of the third quarter of 2022, as a result of the increase in the added value of converting industries by 65.6 per cent.

As of the end of last September, the percentage of the GDP of industrial activities amounted to 19.28 per cent, while the converting industries accounted for 48.3 per cent of the total industrial output, he explained.

Al Rawas reiterated that the converting industries are one of the promising sectors in attracting foreign direct investments, as the value of foreign investments in this sector in 2021 stood at RO 1.705 million 705, or 9.60 per cent of the total investments.