About His Majesty Qaboos Bin Said ...
His Majesty Qaboos Bin Said was born on
18th November, 1940. Qaboos was educated
at Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk, Eng.,
and at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy,
in Berkshire. He was called home in 1965
by his father, Said Bin Taymur, who kept
his son a prisoner for six years while
maintaining his subjects in a medieval
and backward state despite the country's
growing oil revenues. In 1970 Qaboos took
over the palace in a coup with British
support and exiled his father. He immediately
undertook a range of ambitious modern
projects, including the construction of
roads, hospitals, schools, communications
systems, and industrial and port facilities.
He abrogated his father's moralistic laws
and established a 17-member Cabinet and
a system of municipal councils.
Political power, however, remained concentrated
in the royal family. His Majesty's regime
faced such problems as labour unrest,
fiscal instability, a shortage of technocrats,
and threats from Dhofar rebels. He has
made considerable progress in ending Oman's
isolation by joining the Arab League and
the United Nations, and aligning his country
with the moderate Arab powers.
Oman business
climate ...
The market is import oriented and agents
play a crucial role in product promotion
and marketing. The success of a product,
to a great extent, depends on the agent.
Omani Commercial Law encourages vendors
to have a registered local agent. A recent
amendment to the Agency law has done away
with the need for exclusive agents. There
are no standard formats for agency agreements.
It is recommended that, to begin with,
a limited term of representation be agreed.
We will be happy to offer further advice
in this respect.
About a dozen or so business groups dominate
the market. Prominent among these are
Suhail and Saud Bahwan, Omar Zawawi Establishment
(OMZEST), Zubair Enterprises, Khimji Ramdas,
Mohsin Haider Darwish (MHD), W J Towell
and Tawoos.
Most large engineering contractors have
either in-house sourcing ability or an
associate trading company dealing in supplies
and equipment that complement their activity.
This allows them a degree of control over
supply, delivery, pricing and in general,
an edge over the others.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Oman's
largest trading partner with nearly 27%.
UAE exports into Oman are mostly by road
and include direct imports by Omani traders
and re-exports by UAE traders. Letters
of Credit are the most commonly used method
of payment. Documents through Bank (30/60
and 90 day Sight Drafts) and Advance Payment
are also in practice. Importers are known
to operate Open Accounts with suppliers
but this depends on the strength of their
relationships.
CWC
Gulf directors have held strong
relationships in Oman for many
years and at the highest level
of Government. Specialist areas
include telecoms, optic cable,
oil, gas and construction. If
you are planning to do business
in Oman then speak to us now.