Future Fund Oman team courts Chinese investors
MUSCAT: A team of officials representing Future Fund Oman (FFO), an investment vehicle launched by Oman Investment Authority (OIA), recently toured a number of Chinese cities to explore potential manufacturing and industrial partnerships with leading players in China.
During the visit, spanning five cities over multiple weeks, the Omani team interacted with executives of strategic businesses operating in the high-tech, semiconductor, electric vehicle, venture capital, and project finance sectors, according to Rashid al Hashmi, Senior Manager – Future Fund Oman.
Al Hashmi, who led the visit, commented: 'Oman is open for serious industrial partnerships — and China's innovation powerhouses are listening. Over the past weeks, I had the privilege of leading Future Fund Oman's delegation across China and Hong Kong, engaging with some of the region's most strategic manufacturers, robotics pioneers, and sovereign partners,' he added in a post.
The delegation's travel itinerary included 'deep-dive' tours of China Electronics Corporation (a $9.5 billion revenue leader in servers, semiconductors and AI), UB Robotics (a leading manufacturer of humanoid robots and smart service robots); Shenzhen Capital (China's top state-backed venture capital with assets of over $60 billion under management), and U-Power (an EV platform developer progressing toward a manufacturing hub).
The tour also included a visit to the Export-Import Bank of China where the delegation conducted a strategic dialogue on project finance. Additionally, a high-level meeting was held with the Provisional Governor of Guangdong Province to explore industrial cooperation and capital mobility between Oman and the Greater Bay Area.
'Across every engagement, we reinforced FFO's role as a gateway to Oman's diversified industrial future — backed by Vision 2040, world-class infrastructure, and access to GCC, Africa, and US markets (via FTA),' Al Hashmi noted, adding that the Fund is now gearing up inbound delegations from China, which opens up the potential for R&D linkages, and capital-matching exercises.
FFO was established in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance with a capital of $5.2 billion, allocated over five years from 2024 to 2028. Last November, FFO announced its first batch of approved investment projects in November with a combined value exceeding $2 billion. The projects include $1.6 billion committed by foreign investors and $571 million contributed by FFO.
The approved projects span ten key sectors, including technology, manufacturing, tourism, renewable energy, and electric vehicles. In addition, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups will play a prominent role, with investments targeting food, health, financial technology, e-commerce, and more.
CONRAD PRABHU 2022 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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