THE ECONOMIC TIMES, MUMBAI, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

“We provide our clients the most effectivesolutions with a committed approach”

AN INTERNATIONAL ADVERTORIAL AND PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

What are the key areas of operationsfor your group in Oman?� Civil Construction� Mechanical, Fabrication & Machinery� Painting, Scaffolding & Insulation� Refractory� Landscaping Services� Plant, Machineries and Vehicles� Manpower solutions� Trading & Industrial supplies

What are some of your future proj-ects?� Sohar Refinery Expansion Project.� Sohar International Airport project.� Muscat/Salalah International AirportsExpansion projects.� Housing Units Construction Projectsfor various Ministries.

� Oman Railway project� Salalah IWPP2 Project� Barka IWP Project

What role does India play in your operations?Major portion of our professional andskilled workers are from India. They playa leading role in improving our businessendeavours.Our Indian subsidiary Al Nahdha

Overseas (India) Private Ltd offers acomplete array of services. Amongstother services the subsidiary is active inbusiness consultancy, providing man-power, trading and real estate services.Our HR consultancy wing is specialisedin the recruitment of all categories ofmanpower for both our in-house pur-pose as well as for our various clientsabroad. Our real estate division offerslucrative investment opportunities inGoa, Pune and Mumbai.

How do you plan to support Indiancompanies that want to invest inOman?We provide a wide range of cost effec-tive business solutions to meet thebusiness needs of our clients involvedin developing and expanding business-es in Oman.

Being well established on our own

and having the required know-how andinfrastructure to support Indian compa-nies that wish to invest in Oman, we offer them strategic information on all upcoming projects in Oman suitable forinvestment, provide advisory serviceson how to participate and win theseprojects. We also provide support toIndian companies interedted in enteringinto the Oman market and also helpthem in setting up permanent new entities.

How do you utilise human resourcesfrom India? How do they add valueto your global business?We recruit various professionals andskilled workforce from India dependingon our requirements. We provide ourclients the most effective solutions witha committed approach. Our team ofconsultants personally handles everystep of each assignment following thestrictest ethical standards.The quality of candidates recruited addsvalue to our workforce and contribute tothe success and efficiency in executingvarious projects undertaken in Omanand elsewhere. We strive to maintain ahigh degree of standard towards the talent of our workforce and relentlesslyworks towards the betterment of itsquality.

The World Economic Forum’s 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Reportranked the Sultanate of Oman fourth inthe Arab world and 32nd at world levelout of 144 global economies. Accordingto the report, Oman’s solid foundationsare made up of a high-quality institu-tional framework (ranked 17th in theworld); a stable macroeconomic envi-ronment (5th); goods market efficiency

(25th); and financial market develop-ment (26th).

Over the years, the Sultanate has cre-ated an attractive climate for foreign in-vestors and given a boost to flows ofcapital. Among the many positive fea-tures enabling Oman to attract domes-tic and foreign investment include secu-rity, political stability, a free economy, asystem that allows foreigners to own up

Advantage OmanThe bilateral investment flows between India and Oman have beenstrong and remain buoyant, finds out Sheetal Srivastava

INTERVIEW MANI SHEKHAR JHA, general manager, Al Nahdha Group

“New airport terminals are coming upat Muscat and Salalah to meet the ever-increasing passenger traffic”

Oman is called the Arab world’sbest kept secret and is one of themust-see destinations. What rolehas OAMC been playing in compli-menting this image?Muscat International & Salalah airportsbeing the gateways to the Sultanate ofOman, the Government of Oman isconstructing new airport terminalsboth at Muscat and Salalah to meetthe ever-increasing passenger trafficand demand. OAMC as the airport op-erator is actively involved in these proj-ects. The new terminals, when com-pleted, will have top-class passengerfacilities compared to any other mod-ern airports in the world. OAMC alsoregularly liaises with Ministry ofTourism in enhancing tourism infra-structure where necessary, has pro-duced a documentary film about thecountry and tourism attractions, etc.For the benefit of passengers arrivinginto the country, this documentary filmis shown on board of aircraft operatingin Oman. To this end, OAMC is alsoworking with travel trade, airlines andtour operators as well as with theDepartment of Tourism in order togrow tourism traffic to the Sultanate.OAMC participates in the annual WorldTravel Market (WTM) conference

where representatives from aviationand travel industry participate enmasse. OAMC representatives alongwith Ministry of Tourism delegatespresent tourism opportunities inOman at this mega event, thus giving aclear picture of the various tourismdestinations in the country.

Oman’s airports are currently un-dergoing a massive expansion.What opportunities will this createfor Indian companies?Since so many airports are under con-struction, Indian companies are alsoinvolved directly or indirectly in theseprestigious projects viz. construction,consultation, etc.

How many new airports are beingadded to the existing ones atMuscat and Salalah? Will these of-fer direct connections to Asia andrest of the world?In addition to the existing airports atMuscat and Salalah, three regional air-ports are also being built – at Sohar, Al-Duqm and Ras Al Hadd. Once they be-come operational, it is expected thatwith the approval of the Government –Civil Aviation Authority - direct flights toAsia and rest of the world may be-come a reality in due course.

Considering the number of expatri-ates working in Oman, will the ex-pansion plans give birth to new lowcost carriers?With these enhanced facilities andconstant increase in passenger traffic,it is expected that new low cost carriersmay commence operations to airportsin Oman. OAMC are also arranging foraggressive marketing and extend allpossible assistance to the carriers in-terested in commencing operations tothe airports in Oman.

INTERVIEW VIC ALLEN, acting CEO, OAMC

– 12 per cent annually – for allOmani and foreign companiesand establishments, loans atlow interest rates and with com-fortable repayment periods for arange of projects and attractivecompany tax exemptions for upto 10 years.

INDIA-OMAN TRADE LINKAGESIndia and Oman have historicalmaritime trade relations andpeople-to-people contacts. TheIndia-Oman bilateral trade dur-ing FY 2012-13 was USD 4.55billion of which Indian exportsconstituted USD 2.60 billion.and imports USD 1.95 billion.The volume of bilateral tradehas increased by 129 per centsince 2008-09.

The bilateral investment flowsbetween India and Oman havebeen strong and remain buoy-ant. According to the last dataavailable, there are 1537 India-Oman joint ventures in theSultanate with a total invest-ment of USD 7.5 billion of whichthe Indian investment is esti-mated at around USD 4.5 bil-lion.

A BUSINESS ORIENTEDENVIRONMENTOman's modernisation, whichhas lasted since the 1970s, hasgiven the country the public in-frastructure enjoyed by devel-oped countries. Overall, Omanoffers an ideal business environ-ment as the Government regu-lations and laws in Oman arespecially designed to make con-ducting business easy and has-sle-free. Investors will find a sta-ble, secure setting for theirbusiness to flourish in Salalah.

Thus, Oman offers abundantresources with access to awealth of natural resources, en-ergy and domestic and interna-tional financing and togetherwith the Salalah Free Zone, it of-fers a comprehensive businessecosystem able to meet theneeds of companies.

(With inputs from agencies)

WHY INVEST INSALALAH?� Salalah Port is today a major regional

and global transshipment hub, secondonly to Dubai in terms of size, and firstin the Indian Ocean

� A Free Zone with cost competitive mar-ket reach and access

� Offers solutions to business owners andmultinationals looking to expand theiroperations into Middle East, Africa,Southern Europe and South Asia

� The location is the center of gravity tothe East Africa/GCC/Subcontinent market

� The strategic location between traderoutes of the East and the West givesSalalah Free Zone a shipping cost anddelivery time advantage to relocatingmanufacturers when compared toChina, USA and India as well as regionalcompetitors

to 100 per cent of projects, no restric-tions on exporting funds and profits, nopersonal income tax, a standard tax rate

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• •• . WELCOME TO

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