Oman Attracts Global Investments
in Semiconductors, Electric Vehicles

Muscat, 26 Feb (ONA) — Qais Mohammed
Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, today
conferred with representatives of Taiwanese tech giant EONH Private Holdings—a
company specialized in semiconductors—and China’s Jetour Global—a leading
electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer—to discuss opportunities for localizing
future industries and enhancing the Sultanate of Oman’s position as an advanced
industrial hub. The overall goal is to meet the objectives of Oman Industrial
Strategy 2040.

During the meeting, Al Yousef
affirmed the ministry’s commitment to attract quality investments in promising
sectors and provide incentives to support relevant projects. This approach, he
said, calls for joint cooperation between government and private establishments
to ensure the success of such investments and consolidate Oman’s regional and
international status.

For his part, Steve Chao,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Taiwanese company EONH Private Holdings,
said that the company chose the Sultanate of Oman as the first investment
destination in the region. EONH Private Holdings seeks to establish a
factory specialized in semiconductor chips, the core component for the
technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and artificial
intelligence (AI).

Chao added that the initiative
aims to transfer knowledge and expertise and train local cadres by establishing
a specialized centre for the promotion of the converting industries sector.
This, he explained, will enhance chances for the competitiveness of the
Sultanate of Oman as an industrial hub.

The representative of Jetour
Global outlined the company’s plans to invest in the EV sector in the Sultanate
of Oman, noting that initial studies indicate that the volume of the company’s
expected investment will be about RO 6.9 billion (18 billion US dollars), along
with chances of generating 10,000 employment opportunities. The project is
scheduled to be carried out within two years of the official announcement.

Meanwhile, Dr. Saleh Said Masan,
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion
for Commerce and Industry, said that the abovementioned projects are in line
with the priorities of the Industrial Strategy 2040. The strategy, he added, focuses
on capital-intensive industries and knowledge-based industries like
semiconductors, EVs and batteries.

In this context, Masan stressed
the need to provide quality incentives for such investments. He called for the
formation of a technical team to develop an executive plan to localize
industrial projects and ensure the realization of the desired objectives.

By endorsing initiatives to
introduce investment opportunities, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Investment Promotion aims to consolidate economic diversification, enable the
private sector to contribute to raise in-country value (ICV) and expand the
diversification of industrial facilities across the governorates of the
Sultanate of Oman. This will in turn boost the industrial sector’s contribution
to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

— Ends/Bishara/AH