Commercial Law of:

• UAE
• Qatar
• Bahrain
• Oman
• Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait

1) Market volume and available opportunities

Sultanate of Oman is counted among promising markets due to it strategic location linking the GCC countries with Iran, Yemen and Middle Asia. It also distinguished with its limited populations of 2.5 million. Meanwhile the chances are open in Oman for investors to enter to the gulf market or even to other Arab markets within the Grand Arab Free Trade Zone. It also facilitate to undertake the exporting activities to United States of America , the biggest consumer market of the world, without paying any charges as result of Oman-US Free Trade Agreement.

There are plenty of investment opportunities are available in various economic sectors like ;-
• Industrial Sector
Industrial sector in Oman offers numerous opportunities especially in the field of converting industry that depends on energy license and availability of raw materials of minerals. The chances are also available to set-up collecting industries for re-export through modern ports like Sohar and Salalah ports.
• Tourism Sector
Oman is characterized with its peculiarity of multi climate and topography in addition to its wealthy historic heritages that includes almost 500 forts and castles. During the last five years the country hosted a huge number of tourists especially from European countries. Thus a number of opportunities are available for investment in the fields of hotels, tourism resorts and parks in various regions of the country. To promote the investment in this sector, the ministry allotted prepared lands in different measurements for diversified types of projects
• Health Sector
Health represents a significant sector of the country which attracts investors especially while facing so much rush at government hospitals. Therefore, the available opportunities of this sector demands specialized hospitals like cardiology hospital and hard diseases hospitals .. etc.
• IT Sector
The Sultanate pays utmost attention towards attracting investments in the field of Information Technology. A special zone was set-up for this purpose under the name " knowledge oasis " to accommodate entire IT related projects which includes the projects with 100% foreign ownership. This zone is accorded with all necessary services with highest international specifications.
2) Competition status related to sectors

The Sultanate adopted free market, open economic and healthy competition policy along with the existence of regulating rules such as anti dumping laws and intellectual property
protection rules and other laws related to the commercial and investment practices.

3) Government Policies related to sectors

Sultanate of Oman makes all its effort to provide a number of incentives to promote and encourage investments in various economic sectors. Most important of these incentives include ;-
• Freedom to transfer capital and profit
• Customs exemption for machines, equipments, and raw materials of industry
• Income tax exemption up to ten years for companies
• availability of well planned industrial lands for a nominal rend with reductions for basic services ( water – electricity – gas )
• Foreign ownership percentage of 70% directly with the possibility of reaching to 100%
• Insurance policy program of Omani origin exports against political and commercial dangers.
4) Investment Advantages:

• Excellent strategic location.
• Political stability
• WTO membership
• Unified GCC Custom Tariff
• Grand Arab Free Trade Zone
• Natural resources
• Investment promotion and protection treaties.
• Privatization policies.
• Integrated and state-of-art infrastructure
• Varied and rich tourism potentials

5) Investment Incentives:

• Strong and fixed local currency
• Unrestricted capital and profit repatriation
• Custom duty exemption on machinery, equipments and raw materials imported for manufacturing purposes.
• Corporate income tax holiday reaching 10 years.
• Zero personal income tax
• Planned industrial plots at nominal rents with subsidized utility charges (water, electricity and gas)
• Automatic foreign ownership up to 70% with a possibility of 100%
• Guarantee for Omani origin exports against commercial and political risks.