Oman sovereign fund merges Nitaj, FDO to boost food security

Image credit: Nitaj

Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has merged Oman Food Investment Holding Company (Nitaj) and Fisheries Development Oman (FDO) to boost food security in the sultanate as part of Vision 2040.

OIA said the merger is part of its mandate to establish, merge, liquidate, and sell assets in line with Royal Decree No. 57/2021.

By combining the value chains and consolidating procurement, contracts, logistics, and business activities of the two companies, OIA expects the merger to generate substantial revenue growth.

OIA boosted its assets to OMR19.6bn ($51bn), according to its 2023 annual report, up from OMR17.2bn a year earlier, as it accelerates geographic and sector-based diversification of its new international and local investments.

The wealth fund recorded more than OMR1.7bn in profit in 2023 and contributed OMR800m to the state’s general budget. The fund said its contribution to the budget was “made from profits and returns only,” adding that “there was no need to liquidate or sell any assets.”

The state-controlled fund paid off OMR300m of debt owed by its companies in 2023.

The bulk of OIA’s investments are in the sultanate, which makes up 60.8 per cent of its portfolio. Its assets include state firms operating in many sectors across the sultanate’s economy, including energy, aviation, maritime and telecommunications.

Earlier in January, Oman’s sovereign fund launched a new fund to invest in a wide range of industries to develop the national economy and attract foreign investments. The Future Fund Oman, as the fund is known, has a capital of OMR2bn that will be invested over the next five years.

Read: Oman Investment Authority boosts assets to OMR19.6bn in 2023