Salalah forum adds China to Oman-Africa investment push
Source: Oman Observer — Business
Original summary written by Tharwa from the source above. How we source and correct stories
The story in brief
SALALAH, SEPTEMBER 9The 2nd Omani Afro-Chinese Business Forum opened in Salalah on Wednesday with the launch of a digital business platform and the addition of Chinese participatio... That connection became operational this month. SalamAir launched the first scheduled non-stop service between Muscat and Mogadishu on September 3, with two flights a week.
Detailed summary
SALALAH, SEPTEMBER 9The 2nd Omani Afro-Chinese Business Forum opened in Salalah on Wednesday with the launch of a digital business platform and the addition of Chinese participatio... SALALAH, SEPTEMBER 9The 2nd Omani Afro-Chinese Business Forum opened in Salalah on Wednesday with the launch of a digital business platform and the addition of Chinese participation to an initiative that began in Muscat last year as an Oman-Africa business gathering.The oman-africa.com platform was launched during the forum, held under the auspices of Eng Ahmed bin Hassan al Dheeb, Vice-Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ).According to the forum programme, the multilingual platform will provide electronic services and business packages aimed at facilitating commercial links between Oman and countries in the Horn of Africa.The second edition broadens the format of the Omani-African Business Forum held in Muscat in 2025 by bringing Chinese businesses and investors into discussions alongside African and Omani companies.Majid Said Akak, chairman of the organising committee, identified the African countries represented in the initiative as Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Djibouti.Akak said the forum’s central objectives included attracting investment and encouraging African businesses and capital to establish operations in Oman.He said the presence of investors from the participating African countries had increased by more than 400 per cent compared with the two years preceding the first forum, citing recently issued official statistics.He also linked the first edition to efforts to establish direct air connectivity between Oman and Somalia. That connection became operational this month. SalamAir launched the first scheduled non-stop service between Muscat and Mogadishu on September 3, with two flights a week. The airline has said the route is intended to support travel, trade and business links, although it has not attributed the decision to the forum.A separate claim from the African delegation suggested that some companies were considering Oman as a new commercial base.Abdulwali Bashir, a Djiboutian businessman speaking on behalf of African participants, said companies involved in the initiative had been attracted by the earlier forum to shift their centre of business from China to Oman.“We are a group of companies who were attracted by the previous forum to transfer their centre of business from China to the Sultanate of Oman,” Bashir said.China’s inclusion gives the second edition a substantially larger commercial context.
Background & context
This story sits within Oman's broader reform agenda and efforts to grow Technology as a pillar of non-oil GDP. The region benefits from supportive energy prices, expansionary government budgets, and rising interest from sovereign wealth funds and foreign investors.
Key numbers & facts
- No specific figures were provided in the available source. See the original publisher for detailed numbers.
Key points
- SALALAH, SEPTEMBER 9The 2nd Omani Afro-Chinese Business Forum opened in Salalah on Wednesday with the launch of a digital business platform and the addition of Chinese participatio...
- That connection became operational this month.
- SalamAir launched the first scheduled non-stop service between Muscat and Mogadishu on September 3, with two flights a week.
Why this matters
This matters because activity in Technology shapes capital flows, hiring and investor sentiment across Oman.
Economic & market impact
Potential impact: - Tech founders, VCs and digital platforms may see knock-on funding or adoption effects.
GCC angle
For the rest of the GCC, this is a signal on the pace of activity in Technology. Capital flows and regulatory decisions in one Gulf state typically travel across borders given the similar economic structures and the coordination inside the GCC framework.
Risks & uncertainty
There is uncertainty around the read-through: projections can be moved by swings in oil prices, by US monetary policy tightening that most GCC central banks track via dollar pegs, and by regional geopolitical events. Headline numbers may also be revised when subsequent official data is published.
What happens next?
Watch for upcoming disclosures from listed names in Technology, official macro releases for Oman, and any commentary from regulators or sovereign wealth funds. Tharwa will refresh this briefing as new public information becomes available.
Sources used
This is an original Tharwa briefing based on the available source material. Read the full article from the publisher.
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