Foreign direct investment in Oman for the third quarter of 2020 crossed OMR 15.6 billion, an increase of 11.7 per cent compared to the same time for the previous year.

The total volume of FDIs to the country came to OMR 15,658.2 million, for the 9-months of 2020, compared to OMR 14,017.2 million for this period in 2019, while foreign investment inflows amounted to one billion and 1,644.0 million Omani Rials, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

In terms of volumes of FDIs, the UK ranked first, with OMR 7.92 billion, up from OMR 7,264.4 million, followed by the United States OMR1,847.9 million in the third quarter of 2020, compared to OMR 1,716.7 million for the corresponding period last year.

The United Arab Emirates also has significant foreign investment in Oman, at OMR 1,267.7 million, compared to OMR 1,173.7 million for the third quarter of 2019. Fourth on the list is another member of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Kuwait accounted for OMR 933.2 million in FDIs for the third quarter of 2020, in comparison to OMR 841.3 million for the same timeframe in 2019.

Bahrain's investments in Oman rose from OMR 441.3 million in the third quarter of 2019, to OMR 395.4 million in the third quarter of 2020. China's FDI values for the first 9-months of 2020 were OMR 848.9 million, up from OMR 75.0 million for this period in 2019, while Qatar's investments totaled OMR 410.6 million, rising from OMR 350.4 million.

FDI values from the Netherlands added up to OMR 337.4 million, a steady increase from the OMR 304.7 million that were invested into the country in the first nine months of 2019.

Investments from India came to OMR 318.3 million, increasing from OMR 321.3 million.

Investments from Switzerland represented another OMR 280.1, an increase from the third quarter of last year, which was OMR 260.4 million.

Investments from other countries around the world, for the first 9-months of 2020, accumulated to a total of OMR 1,048.5 million, down from OMR 1,311.0 billion for the same time period in 2019.

The maximum amount of foreign investment went into the oil and gas sector (OMR10.06 billion, up from OMR 9.25 billion), followed by the manufacturing sector, which saw OMR 1.55 billion in investment, up from OMR 1.63 billion.

In the financial sector, Oman received OMR 1.47 billion in investment, the same as was invested in this field for the corresponding period last year. Real estate activities saw an investment of OMR 1.14 billion, up from OMR763.8 million for the first nine months of 2019.

Other economic activities in Oman saw a total investment of OMR 1.42 billion, up from OMR 1,007.0 million for the first quarter of 2019.