Latest news with #OIA
Observer
3 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Oman eyes strategic share of global polysilicon market
MUSCAT: With the Sultanate of Oman just months away from commissioning its $1.6 billion polysilicon production facility in SOHAR Port and Freezone, Oman is set to rank second only to China as one of the world's largest producers of this strategic commodity — central to the global solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry. United Solar Polysilicon, slated for launch before the end of this year, will be the first polysilicon project in the Middle East. Once fully operational, the plant — designed with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes — will position Oman as the second-largest producer globally, with an estimated 4.4 per cent share of worldwide capacity. 'The project aims to position Oman as a key player in the global photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing supply chain, reducing dependency on China-based production,' said the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), which has invested $156 million in the venture through Future Fund Oman (FFO), a platform that supports investments in strategic sectors of the Omani economy. China remains a polysilicon manufacturing powerhouse, accounting for around 93 per cent (equivalent to 2 million tonnes per year) of the world's total production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes. A distant second is Germany, with a 2.9-per cent share (65,000 tonnes), followed by the United States and Malaysia, each with 1.5 per cent (34,000 tonnes). In value terms, the global market was estimated at $34.3 billion as of end-2023. According to OIA, the decision to site the polysilicon project in Oman was based on several competitive advantages, foremost among them government support. 'A national negotiation team streamlined discussions, ensuring a smooth process for securing leases, utilities and incentives,' noted Oxford Business Group in an Impact Report on Future Fund Oman. Other factors influencing the investment decision included: Competitive electricity prices, crucial for maintaining profit margins; Proximity to SOHAR Port and Freezone, enabling efficient import of raw materials and export of finished products; Access to the US market via the Oman–US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), allowing tariff-free exports; and a favourable regulatory environment. In addition, the project grants Oman a strategic entry into the global solar renewables supply chain. Detailing the production process, the Impact Report explained: 'The solar PV manufacturing process begins with the production of high-purity polysilicon, which is then melted and shaped into cylindrical ingots. 'These ingots are sliced into thin wafers, forming the base for solar cells. The cells undergo various treatments to enhance their efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity. 'Finally, the cells are assembled into modules (solar panels) ready for installation in energy systems. This process is critical to the growth of renewable energy infrastructure worldwide.' Currently, around 4,000 contractual construction workers are engaged in building the sprawling complex, which spans 160,000 m² within the SOHAR Port and Freezone. During the operational phase, the plant will employ 1,000 to 2,000 staff, with Omanisation targeted at 70 per cent by 2030 through a combination of training and technology transfer programmes.
Observer
4 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Oman posts strong gains in food self-sufficiency
BLURB: Oman is leveraging technology and capital to enhance productivity across its 1.4 million hectares of agricultural land, reinforcing food security and economic resilience. MUSCAT, July 25: Oman's food self-reliance metrics improved significantly across major staples in 2024, buoyed by strong new inflows of investment in agriculture, fisheries and food processing activities. According to the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), a key government entity mandated to strengthen food security among other objectives, the GDP contribution of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors grew by 9.8 per cent year-on-year, reaching RO 966.4 million in 2023. By the end of the first half of 2024, the figure stood at RO 529.5 million, underscoring the significant pace of growth in the country's broader food economy. Oman Food Capital, the new brand established following the merger of OIA subsidiaries Oman Food Investment Holding Company (Nitaj) and Fisheries Development Oman (FDO), currently oversees investments and assets valued at over RO 1 billion. Its portfolio spans the entire food value chain, including fisheries, aquaculture, poultry and red meat production, dairy, fruits and vegetables, animal feed, food processing, agri-tech and R&D, logistics and cold chain infrastructure and local farming. These investments, coupled with initiatives by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources to stimulate sector-wide growth, have contributed to a significant uptick in food self-sufficiency ratios across key food categories. According to data compiled by Oxford Business Group on behalf of the OIA, Oman recorded notable shifts in its food self-reliance indicators in 2024 compared to the previous year. Fish remained the most self-sufficient food category, improving from 151 per cent in 2023 to 162 per cent in 2024, highlighting Oman's robust marine production and growing export potential. Fresh milk also saw a strong performance, rising from 88 per cent to 97 per cent signalling improvements in domestic dairy output and supply chain efficiency. Table eggs experienced a dramatic increase in self-sufficiency, jumping from 59 per cent in 2023 to 92 per cent in 2024, thanks to expanded poultry farming capacity and improved production practices. Fruit production more than doubled in performance, rising from 26 per cent to 57 per cent, indicating broader cultivation and improved seasonal yields. Red meat saw a modest increase from 44 per cent to 46 per cent, reflecting incremental gains in livestock production. Conversely, a few food categories saw declines. Vegetable self-sufficiency dropped from 77 per cent in 2023 to 60 per cent in 2024, while poultry experienced a modest decline from 61 per cent to 55 per cent. Nonetheless, Oman continues to strengthen its agricultural and food sectors through strategic investment. The Oxford Business Group report noted that the Sultanate of Oman is leveraging technology and capital to enhance productivity across its 1.4 million hectares of agricultural land, thereby reinforcing food security and economic resilience. 'By 2024, the country achieved self-sufficiency rates of 92 per cent in table eggs, 97 per cent in fresh milk and 162 per cent in fish production — reflecting considerable progress in fundamental segments', the report stated. The fisheries sector in particular has been described as a 'pillar of economic diversification', with production reaching 748,000 tonnes in 2022, valued at $1.2 billion. Exports rose by 23.7 per cent in the previous year to $362 million, positioning Oman as a global leader in sustainable aquaculture, the report added. In 2024, Oman launched 89 new investment projects in agriculture and fisheries, covering over 9 million square metres. These include 70 agricultural ventures, 10 livestock projects, seven water-related initiatives and two fisheries projects, all aimed at enhancing food security through modern scientific methods. The projects require a minimum 30 per cent Omani or GCC ownership, aligning with Oman's broader strategy to boost private sector participation and sustainable sectoral growth. By 2025, the sector aims to attract $1.2 billion in investment and generate 8,500 jobs. Notable initiatives include integrated aquaculture farms and artisanal fishery projects, supported by Oman's strategic geographic location and robust logistics infrastructure — further reinforcing the Sultanate of Oman's emerging role as a regional food distribution hub, the report concluded.
Observer
6 days ago
- Business
- Observer
Future Fund Oman approves projects worth RO 1.2 billion
Future Fund Oman (FFO) has demonstrated positive performance during its first year of operations, having approved 44 projects with a total project value of approximately RO 1.2 billion. FFO's contribution to these projects amounted to RO 333 million, while foreign capital contributions reached RO 885 million. This reflects growing international confidence in Oman's investment environment, according to a report by the Oxford Business Group (OBG) covering FFO's performance in 2024. The report highlighted the Fund's pivotal role in stimulating economic diversification and expanding the investment base in line with Oman Vision 2040. The report noted that Oman Investment Authority (OIA) established FFO with a capital of RO 2 billion, to be allocated over five years, as a key instrument to support sustainable growth and enhance the resilience of the national economy. The Fund operates within a comprehensive strategic framework designed to stimulate investment in promising high-potential sectors such as industry, renewable energy, ICT, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism, alongside emerging fields such as e-commerce, fintech, and electric vehicles. The report also emphasized that FFO's role goes beyond providing capital; it aims to empower SMEs, support venture capital firms, and foster an innovation ecosystem. This aligns with the Fund's structure, which allocates 90% of its capital to major national projects, while 10% is dedicated to supporting SMEs and venture-backed startups. Through this strategic capital distribution, the Fund complements the National Development Fund (NDF) and the Future Generation Fund (FGF), working together towards realizing Oman's Vision 2040. The report praised the recent legal and regulatory improvements in Oman aimed at attracting foreign investment and diversifying income sources. These reforms include the introduction of a new law allowing 100% foreign ownership in most sectors, the launch of the 'Invest in Oman' platform as a unified digital gateway to streamline licensing procedures, and the update of the list of activities prohibited for foreign ownership, now reduced to only 123 activities. Other initiatives include the implementation of the privatization law, which enabled transferring government assets to the private sector and international investors through IPOs. As a result of these improvements and OIA's efforts, FFO has been able to contribute significantly to the national economy through quality projects approved during its first year. These projects include investment funds, major national projects, and initiatives supporting SMEs and startups. The report highlighted the Fund's collaboration with Chinese partners to launch two investment funds. The first, the 'IDG Oman Fund', was launched in partnership with 'IDG Capital' to invest its entire capital of USD 200 million within Oman, targeting ICT, renewable energy, and electric vehicles. The fund focuses on attracting foreign direct investment and supporting the growth of advanced industries and clean technologies, marking a strategic step towards building an advanced industrial base in the Sultanate of Oman. In addition, FFO partnered with the Chinese firm 'EW Partners', which focuses on investments in the Middle East and North Africa, developing an investment platform that connects leading Chinese companies with expansion opportunities in the GCC. The partnership resulted in the establishment of the 'EWTP Oman Fund' with a capital of USD 250 million, aiming to invest the entire amount within Oman in sectors such as ICT, renewable energy, tourism, and agriculture. This fund's importance lies in its focus on attracting leading Chinese industrial companies to establish their regional operations in Oman, creating local job opportunities, and strengthening supply chain capabilities, which aligns with the OIA's 'Oman Angle' philosophy. In addition to creating investment funds, FFO has undertaken a crucial role in supporting major national projects such as the United Solar Polysilicon Plant in Sohar Free Zone. This project is the largest of its kind outside China, with a production capacity of 100,000 tons of polysilicon. Abdulsalam al Murshidi, President of OIA, highlighted the project's added value in his interview with OBG, saying: 'FFO has successfully established a value chain in Oman by investing in the United Solar Polysilicon plant in Sohar, reinforcing Oman's position as an influential player in the renewable energy sector.' According to the report, this project is expected to enable Oman to capture 4.4% of the global polysilicon market, estimated at USD 37.3 billion. The report also noted FFO's support for SMEs and startups, having approved several related projects, including Q-Pay, Oman's first certified 'Buy Now, Pay Later' provider; Bima, a digital insurance services platform; and the SERB Project for managing drone traffic. Furthermore, the report detailed the FFO's five-year strategic vision (2024–2028) and its expected economic impact. Projects approved by FFO in 2024 alone are anticipated to create over 1,600 direct jobs, diversify the economy to reduce reliance on oil and gas, empower entrepreneurial ventures, and foster innovation. These objectives align with the pillars of Oman Vision 2040, which aims to build a productive and diversified economy led by the private sector, support sustainable development through clean energy and green industries, create jobs, develop local talent, and transfer knowledge to Omani workers while strengthening local and international partnerships in renewable energy and advanced technologies.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Reserve Bank chairman Neil Quigley responds to allegations around Adrian Orr's resignation
When Newstalk ZB asked Quigley about the alleged 'Statement of Concerns' on Tuesday night, he said, 'I can't go into that'. When it asked Quigley about the swearing allegation, he responded, 'I can't comment on that. That's a matter of privacy that I don't think I should discuss.' On the day Orr resigned, Quigley refused to elaborate on what led to the surprise decision, hurriedly announced the day before the Reserve Bank hosted an international economics conference. Quigley said it was a 'personal decision' that Orr made. Then in June, the Reserve Bank issued a more detailed statement saying Orr resigned because he disagreed with the board over the amount of government funding the bank should pitch for. However, Reddell's source suggests there was an element of Orr being pushed to resign. When Newstalk ZB quizzed Quigley on Tuesday over his explanations for Orr's resignation, he made the point that Orr did not have to resign over the funding disagreement. 'There was nothing about that, that required Adrian to resign. He chose to make it a personal decision that he would resign at that point,' Quigley said. A Reserve Bank spokesman told the Herald the bank didn't plan to release any more information about Orr's resignation in addition to its June statement and accompanying documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA). 'The Reserve Bank believes that we have provided what information we can within our legal obligations, noting that the Ombudsman is investigating a complaint related to our handling of these information requests,' the spokesman said. Orr declined the Herald's request for comment. Willis prepped to answer questions about raised voices Reddell – who is often critical of the Reserve Bank – said, in his Croaking Cassandra blog post, he did not know the identity of his source and could not independently verify their claims. However, he believed the source's tone and the way their claims aligned with material in the public domain, gave them credibility. For example, it is known that Willis' press secretary warned her journalists might ask about Orr's conduct. A document released to the Herald under the OIA in April shows that on the morning of Orr's resignation, the press secretary jotted down several answers Willis could use in response to questions she might be asked be journalists. One question he suggested Willis might be asked was: 'Did you ever have disagreements with Adrian Orr?' The press secretary advised Willis to respond: 'I'm not going to discuss what happens in meetings that discuss confidential and sensitive matters.' He suggested a follow-up question could be: 'Did the Governor ever raise his voice with you?' Willis was advised to respond: 'As I've said, my relationship with Adrian Orr was professional. It's not appropriate for me to comment further on meetings that discussed sensitive and confidential matters.' When the Herald asked Willis on Tuesday whether Orr raised his voice with her during the meeting they had on February 24, she said, 'As I've said previously – not that I recall.' Put to her that she surely did remember what happened, Willis said Orr did not raise his voice with her. She distanced herself from the issue, saying it was an employment matter between Orr and the Reserve Bank board. The Herald has asked Treasury to comment on the allegation Orr lost his cool during the February 21 meeting. A copy of the meeting minutes has also been requested. Reserve Bank chairman Neil Quigley says he can't comment on allegations around what led to Adrian Orr's resignation. Photo / Mark Mitchell February 27 board meeting pivotal The Reserve Bank, in its official June explanation for Orr's resignation, said that by the time the board met on February 27, it was clear that it and Willis were willing to agree to a 'considerably lesser amount' of funding for the bank than Orr deemed necessary. 'This caused distress to Mr Orr and the impasse risked damaging necessary working relationships, and led to Mr Orr's personal decision that he had achieved all he could as Governor of the Reserve Bank and could not continue in that role with sufficiently less funding than he thought was viable for the organisation,' the Reserve Bank said. Secretary to the Treasury Iain Rennie texted Willis during the evening of February 27 to say he had spoken to Quigley. Details of the exchange were redacted, but Willis responded, 'Thanks for the update.' February 27 is also the day Reddell's source alleges Quigley sent Orr a 'Statement of Concerns'. The Reserve Bank said that following the board meeting, Orr and Quigley 'entered discussions, which led to Mr Orr's decision to resign. Both parties engaged senior counsel to negotiate an appropriate exit agreement.' Quigley involved in appointment of new Governor Orr hasn't spoken publicly about his resignation. His concerns over funding for the bank are detailed in an email, released under the OIA, which he sent board members on February 14. He noted the tension between submitting a funding proposal the Government wanted to hear, versus one that supported the bank's goals. 'The importance and clarity of operational independence for central banks is judged by global financial markets now and in the future. Not by any current Government,' Orr told the board. Since Orr's departure, the Reserve Bank has embarked on a major restructure that has involved several executives leaving and senior roles being cut. The board is in the process of finding someone it will recommend Willis appoints as Governor. In the meantime, Orr's former deputy, Christian Hawkesby, is acting Governor. When in Opposition, Willis was unhappy Quigley recommended Orr be reappointed Governor for a second term. However, last year, she reappointed Quigley chairman until June 2026. Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald's Wellington business editor, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.
Scoop
21-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Booze Warnings On Hold
, for The Detail Outdated alcohol guidelines put New Zealand out of step with modern research, but our health authorities are in no hurry to update them. In Canada, proposed guidelines for low-risk drinking set the weekly limit at two drinks. Here in New Zealand, the recommendation is to cap alcohol at 10 drinks weekly for women, and 15 for men, with two alcohol-free days per week. Despite these guidelines being nearly 15 years old, and documents from Health NZ showing that they consider a review of the guidelines to be 'necessary', for now, the guidelines are staying as they are. "The complication is that the Ministry of Health has come in over the top of [Health NZ] and has said 'actually these are our guidelines ... we want to control this and we're putting a pause on that work'," says RNZ's Guyon Espiner. "It certainly does show that they're listening to the alcohol industry, who are pretty exercised about this - because as you can imagine, this could have a significant effect on sales if people did take this advice and did drink significantly less." In a series of articles over the past few months, Espiner has reported on issues of alcohol harm and how the alcohol lobby has impacted policy in New Zealand. Through documents he received through the Official Information Act (OIA), he found that Health NZ commissioned a review of the low-risk guidelines. But in October 2024, a lobbyist emailed Ross Bell, who is a manager in the Ministry of Health's Public Health Agency, asking why Health NZ's website said the guidelines were under review. In December, following a second email which again asked about the review and also complained about mention of the Canadian guidelines on Health NZ-run website ' Bell emailed Health NZ saying "All work on this project will now pause. You will update relevant Health NZ websites to remove references to the review and also to other jurisdictions' guidelines (including the Canadian one)." But in a statement to The Detail, the Ministry of Health says it "understands Health New Zealand has continued some work related to the review. The Ministry is working with Health New Zealand on potential next steps, including how Health New Zealand's progress on the review to date can be used to inform any future work in this area" and that "the Ministry is currently considering where the next phase (Phase 2) will fit as it prioritises its work programme for 2025/26." The Ministry's statement, which is attributed to Dr Andrew Old, Deputy Director-General, Public Health Agency, goes on to say that "as part of good policy process, the Ministry engages with a broad range of interested parties-including community organisations, public health experts, and the industry-to ensure any regulatory approaches are well-informed and transparent. Reference to the drinking guidelines review was removed from the website to avoid confusion about roles and responsibilities as the guidelines are now led by the Ministry of Health - rather than Health New Zealand which has responsibility for the site. This was an internal Ministry decision." In today's episode of The Detail, Espiner details other examples of contact between the alcohol lobby and health policy makers. "The material I've got shows that yes they've had a lot of meetings, a lot of email contact, in fact one looked like a regular meeting between alcohol lobbyists and Ministry of Health staff. They've also shared with the alcohol industry their plans on how they will combat Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder ... they shared that entire draft document with them and also shared with them plans about how they might spend the alcohol levy." Espiner says that while this contact is going on, tobacco lobbyists are completely 'locked out of the policy process". "We're signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, [which is] a World Health initiative, and there's a clause in there that New Zealand is signed up to that says you won't allow the vested interests of the tobacco industry to shape policy. "What's interesting is that the alcohol industry has escaped most of that scrutiny." For Massey University associate professor Andy Towers, who has worked on the Health NZ review, it is a clear mistake for New Zealand to allow lobbyists a role. "It's very, very clear that you don't invite the wolf into the henhouse," he says. "Unfortunately the alcohol industry makes money based on alcohol use and resulting alcohol harms and in a space where we are trying to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and reduce those harms for society and for communities, there is not space for the alcohol industry there. They do not get to sit at the table, just as you wouldn't invite an arms manufacturer to the table to talk about cessation of violence." In this episode of The Detail, Towers explains how knowledge around the harm of alcohol has evolved in the past 20 years, and where New Zealand sits on alcohol use compared to other countries. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.
