Oman

Oman, an Arab country located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. Oman is divided into five regions and four governorates, with Muscat as the capital. The official language of Oman is Arabic, and the currency is the Omani Rial (OMR).

Oman has a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources. As a result of declining reserves, Oman has actively pursued a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialisation, and privatisation, with the objective of reducing the oil sector's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).

In 2016, the Tanfeedh initiative was enacted with the focus of enhancing economic diversification within the Sultanate and sustaining participation between the public and private sectors. Namely, the key components of the government's diversification strategy under the Tanfeedh initiatives are manufacturing, tourism, transport, logistics, mining, and fisheries.

With 100% foreign ownership now available to foreign investors in multiple sectors, Oman has also been attracting a large amount of foreign investment. The government has outlined initiatives to modernise the local economy and privatise state utilities. A significant increase in government spending and foreign direct investment has led to the development of the following sectors:

• Oil and gas: Oil and gas activities continue to dominate the economic performance of Oman.
• Construction and infrastructure: As a result of large-scale public and private investment in infrastructure development, industrial, tourism, and commercial property projects, construction sector output has significantly grown. The government also intends to attract high-technology investors to free zones being developed in Duqm, Muscat, Sohar, Salalah, and other developed free zones.
• Real estate and tourism: As with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Oman has seen a number of significant developments in the real estate and tourism sector, including the establishment of several integrated tourism complexes and an increase in the number of tourism-related projects (e.g. golf courses and hotels), as well as integrated tourism complex (ITC) projects.

Established in the Middle East for over 50 years, PwC has 22 offices across 12 countries in the region (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). PwC Oman, which is part of the PwC Middle East, practice is committed to providing valued quality services. PwC Oman provides a comprehensive set of services covering industries including banking and capital markets, energy, utilities and mining, financial services, government/public services, health industries, industrial products/manufacturing, insurance, Islamic banking and Takaful, real estate, telecommunication, transportation, and logistics.

The PwC legal and tax practice in Oman provides specialised assistance in indirect taxation (value-added tax [VAT], excise tax, and customs tax), fiscal reforms, international and corporate income taxation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, tax advisory, tax management, and transfer pricing.