FORMATION OF OIC

MUSCAT -- In a significant development yesterday, the AGCC-owned Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) in association with Oman's National Investment Fund Company (NIFCO), State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) and BankMuscat has floated a new venture -- Oman Investment Corporation (OIC). The establishment of OIC comes in line with Oman's initiatives to develop enterprises and help promote entrepreneurial spirit. Essentailly, OIC's core activities will be a mixture of a venture capital firm and of a private equity fund. "OIC is floated with an authorised capital of RO25 million and a paid-up capital of RO10 million. Its core objectives are enterprises development and promoting economic growth," OIC Chairman Abdullah bin Salem Al Salmi told Times Business yesterday.

Al Salmi, who is also the vice-president of the Capital Market Authority's Regulatory Affairs said, Kuwait-based GIC, which is equally owned by the governments of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates has picked a 50 per cent stake in OIC's equity. Al Salmi, who is also the chairman of the Muscat Securities Market, said Nifco, SGRF and Oman's largest commercial bank BankMuscat hold 35 per cent, 10 per cent and five per cent stakes, respectively in OIC's paid-up capital. OIC will explore opportunities to acquire companies/projects /ventures in Oman that have good growth potential. Once the acquired projects/companies/ventures have been developed, after three years or so, OIC may divest its stakes in some of these companies or ventures to the public, and transform them into public limited joint stock companies.

OIC will only look at acquiring controlling stakes in ventures rather than small investments. Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, minister of commerce and industry initiated the idea of setting up a venture capital company in Oman aimed at promoting enterprises development, economic growth and capital formation.

OIC is also in the process of signing an MoU with GIC. GIC is likely to pick stakes in all ventures/projects where OIC proposes to invest.