The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has announced a substantial increase in the value of the investment portfolios of its strategic joint ventures with various countries worldwide. Currently, there are seven operational joint ventures between Oman and friendly nations such as Qatar, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Brunei Darussalam. These partnerships continue to enhance economic cooperation, investment, and technology transfer between the involved parties.
One of the longest-standing joint ventures is the Oman-India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), which recently introduced a third fund to capitalize on the success of the first two funds. Fund III, approved by the Indian JV partner, the State Bank of India (SBI), with a fund size of $300 million, aims to build on the achievements of Fund I, which achieved an IRR of 6% by September 2023. Fund II's IRR stood at 17% by the same period.
Another notable joint venture is the Al Hosn Investment Company, a partnership between Oman and Qatar, with a portfolio of 14 investments valued at RO 139 million as of September 20, 2023. The joint venture is dedicated to leveraging its portfolio to create strategic value and enhance returns for its shareholders, as highlighted in the OIA's 2023 Annual Report.
Vietnam-Oman Investment has recently approved an allocation of $100 million for various investment opportunities. This includes investments in public equity, IPO subscription, pre-listing, as well as private equity. As of December 2023, a total of $34.6 million has been invested in five new public equity investments. Additionally, the private equity portfolio consists of 13 investments, which have yielded a 5.2% IRR and a return of 1.75 times the initial investment value as of June 2023, according to the Authority.
Uzbek-Oman Investment Company (UOIC) has expanded its portfolio to include 11 investments by the end of 2023. This growth was achieved through the addition of three public equity investments and one financial services company in the previous year. In 2023, Pak Oman Investment Company recorded net profits of $2.6 million, a significant increase compared to $1.4 million during the same period in 2022.
Lastly, the Spain Oman Private Equity Fund has successfully launched a second fund following the achievements of its initial fund. With a total commitment of 100 million euros, OIA has invested 85.9 million euros in the original equity fund. Since its establishment, the fund has invested in a total of 11 projects, divesting from two in 2023. One of these investments yielded a return of 4.5 times the initial investment value, while the other returned 1.3 times the investment value.
In the previous year, OIA successfully reached an agreement with the Spanish Sovereign Wealth Fund COFIDES to establish a second fund worth 102 million euros. Both partners contributed 50 million euros each towards this fund. This second fund, known as Fund II, has already begun investing in prominent Spanish companies.
Abdulsalam al Murshidi, the President of OIA, highlighted the impressive performance of the strategic joint ventures in 2023. He emphasized that these ventures were in line with the government's economic diplomacy efforts to enhance partnerships with other countries. Following the outstanding results achieved by the first fund, OIA decided to establish the second Spain Oman Private Equity Fund. Furthermore, after witnessing rewarding returns on investment from the first and second funds, OIA entered into an agreement with Indian representatives to launch a third joint venture.
