Muscat: By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the Sultanate of Oman had seen an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), totaling OMR30,611.5 million. Inward FDI inflows during this time amounted to OMR5,225.8 million, a substantial increase over the OMR4,111.2 million reported in the first quarter of 2024.
According to preliminary data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the oil and gas extraction sector accounted for 81 percent of total FDI, valued at OMR24,701.9 million, with cash flows totaling OMR4,812 million.
The data also shows that FDI in the transforming industries sector totaled OMR2,749.3 million at the conclusion of Q1 2025, with cash flows of OMR592.3 million. FDI in the financial intermediation sector totaled OMR1,300.3 million, with cash inflows of OMR217. 8 million.
Investments in the real estate, rental, and commercial activities sector totaled OMR653.1 million, a 36.8% decrease from the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, total FDI in the transportation, storage, and communications sectors was estimated at OMR 357.9 million, with OMR 3.2 million in inflows. Investment in the power and water industry totaled RO 292 million, representing an 11% decrease from the equivalent quarter in 2024. The commerce sector received overall investments of OMR262 million, with inflows of OMR14.5 million.
By the end of the first quarter of this year, total investment in hotels and restaurants amounted to OMR116.6 million, a 0.5% fall in value compared to the same period in 2024.
The construction sector's total value was OMR88.5 million, with an estimated drop in inflows of OMR 4.9 million. The total value in other operations was OMR89. 9 million, with inflows of OMR7.3 million.
The United Kingdom led in overall FDI by the conclusion of the first quarter of the current year, accounting for 50.9 percent of the total, which was worth OMR15,574.3 million. It was followed by the United States, with total investments of OMR7,824.5 million; Kuwait, with OMR1,223.6 million; the People's Republic of China, with OMR894. 9 million; the United Arab Emirates, with OMR753 million; Qatar, with OMR669.3 million; Bahrain, with OMR462.4 million; the Netherlands, with OMR364.1 million; India, with OMR306 million; and Switzerland, with RO 301.3 million. Other countries contributed RO 2,238.1 million.
