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Profile
More
than half of the population of Oman lives
in the capital area, which extends from
Muscat to Seeb and along the northern Batinah
coast. The manufacturing industry
has generally been located on the country's
industrial estates of which there are 5.
The first of these was established in 1983
at Rusayl on the outskirts of the capital,
Muscat.
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Country
Rankings
Oman
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| Ease
of Doing Business World Bank '05 |
51
of 155
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High*
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Corruption
Perception
Transparency International '05 |
28 of 159
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High
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Growth
Competitiveness
World Economic Forum '05 |
Not
covered
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| National
Literacy |
76%
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Med
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GDP
Growth
(2004 est.) |
1.2%
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Low
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In
mid-2000 there were over 100 factories in operation,
mostly producing light goods such as biscuits,
soft drinks and textiles. A cement plant
is also part of this estate.
Muscat
is also home to Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM),
a a technology park covering 68 hectares of land,
located just outside the capital. KOM neighbors
the Rusayl Industrial Estate and Sultan Qaboos
University. KOM is currently home to industry
stalwarts such as HP, NCR, Huawei and Siemens
as well as a number of hi-tech start-ups.
The
two-day Middle East and South Asia (Mesa) Partners'
Conference, recently in Muscat and held by KPMG,
marked the audit firm's 30 years of operations
in the Sultanate as well as the investment possibilities
in Oman’s services sector and reforms in
foreign investment laws which are currently being
backed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan recently
attended a meeting of the Turkey-Oman Business
Council in Muscat in order boost bilateral ties
between the two countries. A recent trade
mission from Malaysia also visited Muscat to promote
Malaysian services in power engineering and other
power related industries.
Nawras,
Oman's leading customer-oriented communications
provider, announced recently the conclusion of
a strategic alliance with international industry
leader Microsoft and i-mate™, specialists
in Windows Mobile™ device solutions which
include next-generation smart phones and PDA devices.
This alliance will bring breaking technologies
in wireless business solutions to the Omani market.
The
Muscat Securities Market, established in 1989,
is open to foreign investors, although, with the
exception of GCC investors, interest so far has
been very limited. The recent IPO of Taageer
Finance, a prominent leasing and finance company,
was 4 times oversubscribed. In 2004 the
Market produced almost a 25% return.
Muscat
will be host to a regional conference on 'preserving
the wealth of family companies' in February, 2006
to be hosted by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (OCCI).
Key
Links:
Muscat
Securities Market -
http://www.msm.gov.om/
Oman
Chamber of Commerce & Industry - http://www.chamberoman.com/
Omani
Centre for Investment Promotion & Export Development
- http://www.ociped.com
Knowledge
Oasis Muscat -
http://www.kom.om/
Source:
Population:
2004 or latest: http://www.citypopulation.de;
GDP Data: 2004 CIA Fact Book estimate; Literacy:
UN estimate
*
Country Ranking Codes: A relative color coding
of where the country falls compared to the 20
other Muslim countries represented in this list.
Hgh/Green=Top 3rd; Med/Yellow=Mid 3rd; Low/Orange=Bottom
rd
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