Aqar Oman Magazine 23 Feb 2017

AQAR Issue 4 - January 2017

H.E Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism

OMAN Oman`s exclusive real estate magazine

l a e m r s i k r n u i l o t s h C t IT te wi a t s e

Emphasis on tourism growth

e-linking with brokerage firms A good place to live is a good place to visit

19 winners at

6 ORA Awards 201

Tanfeedh boost for real estate sector

Published by: OMAN

Daily

AQAR OMAN CONTENTS

ITCs link real estate with tourism H.E Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism

19 winners at ORA Awards 2016

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Tanfeedh boost for real estate sector

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Emphasis on tourism growth

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Dr. Heba: A good place to live is a good place to visit

All-round growth with Tanfeedh 4

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Al Khonji is optimistic about real estate market

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Wujha Real Estate Development living upto market needs

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e-linking with brokerage firms

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Chairman’s note

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T is our pleasure to publish yet another issue of ‘Aqar Oman’, by Oman Real Estate Association (ORA) in cooperation with Oman Establishment for Press, Publishing and Advertising. Besides covering the latest developments in real estate field, this issue includes a special dossier about ITCs; an initiative which was launched 10 years ago. It is true that ITCs provided attractive investment and leisure opportunities.

This issue also includes an interview with the Minister of Tourism where he speaks about the growth made by the tourism sector, the Tourism Strategy 2040 and the initiatives taken to maximize the contribution of tourism to GDP. It also includes features about the views of developers, investors and tourism experts about the initiatives produced

by Tanfeedh labs. The issue

also includes reports on the major completed or underway tourism projects with many successful case studies from the different parts of the world with similar projects.

The issue also includes the initiatives taken by the National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification, Tanfeedh, to enhance the money and fiancé sector including the establishment of the first Real Estate fund.

It also includes the latest developments of the Tanfeedh program including the establishment of an integrated database on real estate. The database is expected to enhance the growth of the sector, improve the services rendered, eliminate the improper practices form the market and create new indicators about real estate prices in

the different parts and governorates.

The issue also includes interviews with investors on the status of the Omani real market and their major future projects. The issue also has some reports and features on the market trends at this time.

Wish you happy and interesting reading!

Chairman HE Mohammed bin Salim Al Busaidi Editor in Chief (Aqar Oman) Mohammed bin Salim Al Hasani Magazine Editor Mustafa Al Lawati

Sultanate of Oman Po Box 829, P C 115 Tel (968) 24647661 - Fax (968) 24647665 Email: info@oraoman.com www.oraoman.com

Mohamed Al Busaidi Chairman

‫طبع بمطابع‬ ‫مؤسسة عمان للصحافة والنشر واإلعالن‬

Editor in Chief: Abdullah bin Salim Al Shuelli Editorial: Amal Ragab Samuel Kutty HoD Business Development Dept: Fatima bin Mohammed Al Gheilani Designer: Sayed Adem Business Development Department: Prem Varghese

Karen Jane Stephen Photography: Abdulaziz bin Shihab Al Shukaili

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News

ORA Sings MoU with PDO to train 300 Omanis

O

man Real Estate Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to train 300 real estate brokers so they can be officially certified and licensed by the Ministry of Housing, enabling them to hire more staff.

The MoU comes within the efforts made to comply with the requirements of the Ministry of Housing which mandates the real estate broker to have a training course in real estate brokerage to get the Ministry’s license.

ORA, in collaboration with PDO, seeks to create fresh job opportunities at the Omani market and provide them with the skills they need to take over the different jobs at the real estate market.

As per the MoU which was signed by Hassan Juma Al Lawati Deputy Chairman of the BoD and

PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci, will prepare the materials and select high quality trainers in collaboration with the renowned training institutes in the region. The program includes six training courses each of which will accommodate 50 trainees.

After successful completion

of the course requirements and passing the test at the end of the course, the trainee will receive the Ministry of Housing license. “The MoU comes within the many initiatives made by the Association to nurture the real estate sector in the Sultanate�, Hassan Al Lawati said.

ORA attends TAF 2016 delegation of ORA led by Eng. Mohamed Al Busaidi, A Chairman of ORA took part at the Arab Turkish Forum 2016 (TAF) for Construction and Interior Design that was held in Izmir in Turkey. 28 Arab and Turkish speaking countries participated at the forum.

The chairman of the delegation signed a protocol for cooperation with the Cooperation Society between Turkey and Arab countries.

The chairman of ORA presented a shield to Sabohi Attar, chairman of Turab Association.

B2B meetings were held with the different Turkish companies to share experiences and encourage investments in real estate and other business and industrial sectors. The businessmen also dis-

cussed the hindrances that impede the flow of investments between Turkey and Arab countries.

The Omani delegation distributed a number of gifts and souvenirs about the Sultanate. The members of the delegation also visited some factories of the exhibitors

to get an in-depth idea about the quality of Turkish products.

ORA is keen to take part at such events to attract more foreign investments to the Sultanate. During the event, a number of Turkish companies expressed their interest to open branches in Oman.

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News

Dhofar investment avenues on focus O

man Chamber of Commerce and Industry branch in Governorate of Dhofar, in collaboration with Oman Real Estate Association (ORA), organised at Crowne Plaza Hotel Salalah ‘Dhofar Real Estate Forum’ under the theme “Horizons of Real Estate Investment in Dhofar” under the auspices of Dr Rasheed bin al Safi al Huraibi, Chairman of the Tender Board.

The forum was attended by a number of officials, businessmen, investors and real estate professionals.

The forum included two panel discussions; the first one on available investment opportunities in Governorate of Dhofar while the second one on real estate investment in Governorate of Dhofar between opportunities and challenges: private sector perspective.

The forum aimed at promoting real estate sector and highlighting the partnership between ORA and other public and private organisa-

tions.

Eng. Mohammed Abu Bakr al Ghassani, Deputy Chairman of Majlis A’ Shura and representative of the wilayat of Salalah , delivered a speech where he highlighted the importance of partnership between the private and public sectors in real estate fields. He added that this partnership helps in achieving the interests of both sides.

Salem bin Abdullah Al Kaf, Head of the Real Estate Committee at

OCCI branch in Dhofar said that the Forum seeks to come out with recommendations that enhance real estate investment in the governorate.

Eng. Mohammed bin Salem Al Busaidi, Chairman of ORA delivered a speech where he said that the real estate sector is one of the key economic sectors.

Later the chief guest launched issue No 3 of Aqar Oman magazine and honoured participants at the forum.

Massive growth in transactions O

man’s real estate transactions registered a massive 124.3 per cent growth for the first 10 months of 2016 to OMR7.6 billion, over the same period of last year, which was valued at OMR3.4 billion, according to latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Fees collected from legal transactions in the real estate sector rose 34.1 per cent to OMR54.2 million while traded value of transaction contracts dipped by 16.2 per cent to OMR857.3 million, along with a 9.8 per cent fall

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in the number of transaction contracts, which declined to 59,997 from 66,540 in the prior year.

In contrast, the number of mortgage contracts increased 4.8 per cent to 19,532 with a substantial 186 per cent growth in the value of mortgage contracts at OMR6.8 billion compared to RO2.379 billion during the same period of 2015. The number of mortgage contracts stood at 19,532 ; a growth by 4.8%.

Barter contracts, however, suffered a 42 per cent drop in the number of contracts at 658, and an accompanying 45.2 per cent

fall in the value of barter contracts, which slipped to OMR9.7 million from last year’s OMR17.6 million.

The issued title deeds too took a hit during the January-October period, with the number of issued properties shrinking by 1.5 per cent to 196,651 compared to the same period last year which stood at 199,616.

The number of title deeds issued for GCC nationals as of the end of October 2016 stood grew by 24.5% to hit 480 compared to 1,959 during the same period in 2015.

ORA holds Oman Roadshow Real Estate Exhibition

O

man Real Estate Association (ORA) organized the second version of Oman Roadshow Real Estate Exhibition 2016 at Muscat Grand Mall in December.

Several major real estate developers and offices took part at the exhibition which aimed at promoting the real estate opportunities at the local markets as well as the latest updates and developments in this key sector.

A number of underway and planned real estate projects were on display during the event. The exhibitor provided a number of offers ad discounts for those interested to buy the housing units, the finance systems and the real estate investment opportunities in the Sultanate.

The projects displayed met the needs of those looking either for units suitable for limited income people or luxury units as well.

The exhibition, which was sponsored by Sayyid Salem bin Musalam Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Civil Service and Mohammed Al Kindi, member of the Economic Committee at Majlis A’ Shura, aimed at activating the real estate sector in the Sultanate and encouraging businesses that serve national economy.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mohammed Al Busaidi, Chairman of ORA and a number of ORA board members alongside with representatives of the real estate offices and brokers The list of participants included a number of big names in real estate fields such as Argan & Towel, Trust Real Estate, Amerat Gate, Qurm Hills Real Estate, Arab Spring, Sama Real Estate, Real Estate Market Ent., Noor Al Madinah Real Estate, Desert Axis Real Estate, Alam Al Aqar magazine and Cup Hospitality.

At the stand of ORA, Aqar Oman, a specialized real estate publication issued by ORA in collaboration with Oman Establishment for Press, Publishing and Distribution, has been distributed

onto visitors.

In a press statement, Sayyid Salem bin Musalam Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Civil Service for Administrative Development Affairs said that the Omani real estate market is very promising despite the fact that some real estate developers complained for sluggish growth at the market.

He noted that indicators point out to a recovery at the third quarter of 2016 and that the more the quality of the property, the higher will be the demand for it.

He added that such exhibitions provide real estate developers and brokers to display their projects.

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News

33 sites for tourism projects

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hirty-three locations in various governorates have been approved for establishing tourism projects through usufruct agreements by the Ministry of Housing, in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism. It will help increase tourism growth and diversify sources of national income.

The decision calls for allocating land, that has been made as per Royal Decree No. 76/2010, which gives the housing ministry the authority to sign usufruct agreements, for a limited period, with Omani and non-Omani natural and juristic persons for a part of the land owned by the state to set up projects that help in the economic development of Oman.

Five usufruct agreements have been signed, including for two plots in the wilayat of Baushar. The first pact calls for setting up beach services projects (restaurant and café shop) on 150 sqm at Shati Al Qurum, while the second is for building a restaurant complex on 1,421 sqm in the wilayat of Baushar. The third agreement is for a hotel and resort on 150,000 sqm in the wilayat of A’Seeb, and the fourth is for building a tourism resort of over 47,499 sqm, also in the wilayat of A’Seeb.

The fifth pact is for establishing a hotel and a commercial complex on over 179,590 sqm in Al Mubealah in the wilayat of A’Seeb, while the sixth calls for a hotel to be built on 2,614 sqm in the wilayat of Al A’merat.

The seventh agreement allows for

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construction of a hotel and a resort over 15,000 sqm in Al Khoudh in the wilayat of A’Seeb.

Five sites, spread over 5,002 sq m, have also been allocated through usufruct agreements in the industrial area in the wilayat of Salalah for setting up hotel apartments. An area of 20,000 sqm has been allocated for a tourism camp west of Najd in the wilayat of Thumrait. Land has also been allocated for a resort (10,000 sqm) in the wilayat of Mirbat, another resort (30,000 sqm) in the wilayat of Taqah, and a traditional restaurant project (over 5,835 sqm) in the wilayat of Salalah.

Land (9,246 sqm) has been allocated for a cultural hostel in Al Hoqain in the wilayat of A’Rustaq.

Another site, spread over 10,000 sqm, has been set aside for a hotel in Al Alaya area in the wilayat of A’Rustaq.

Agreements have also been signed for setting up a hotel (10,000 sqm) in the Redat Al Busaid area in the wilayat of Nizwa, and another hotel (31,461 sqm) in Al Turath District in the same wilayat. Land has also been allocated for a resort (78,562 sqm) in Jabal Shams in the wilayat of Al Hamra.

Usufruct rights have been granted in the governorate for a tourism complex (10,000 sqm) in Al Fulaij in the wilayat of Ibra, a tourism resort (about 30,000 sq m) in Shajat Safa Al Wasil in the wilayat of Bidiyah,

a hotel (4,123 sqm) in Al Suwaireej area in the wilayat of Al Mudhaibi, and a resort (10,000 sqm) in Najd Al Maharmah in the wilayat of Al Qabil.

The housing ministry also approved seven usufruct agreements, the most important of which is the project to develop Ras Al Hadd in the wilayat of Sur by setting up hotels, villas, shopping areas, a wild life centre, a cultural centre over 1,971,823 sqm, and a hotel spread over 12,000 sqm in the Niyabat of Ras Al Hadd in the same wilayat.

Other sites that have been approved, all through usufruct agreements, include: a tourism project (60,000 sqm) in Al Ashkharah in the wilayat of Ja’alan Bani Bu Ali, another tourism resort (15,069 sqm), a rest area (10,000 sqm) in A’Suwaih, a camp (300 sqm) in the same wilayat, and a tourism aviation club project (992,000 sqm) in Al Jawabi.

The Ministry of Housing also gave its nod for tourism projects in the governorate, to include a hotel and hotel apartments in Al Aqdah area, each over 1,530 sqm, in the wilayat of Al Buraimi, and a tourism hotel and resort in Al Madam area over 50,000 sqm.

In the governorate of Al Wusta, which is a central site among many governorates, over 50,000 sqm has been allocated in Ras Madrakah in the wilayat of Duqm for a tourism resort, and over 2,500 sqm for a rest area in the wilayat of Hayma.

Land for petrol stations through public auction

S

haikh Seif bin Mohammed Al Shabibi, Minister of Housing issued a ministerial decision related to the regulation for possession of the governmental commercial cum residential, commercial cum industrial and land plots allocated for petrol stations through public auction.

The Regulation is based on the Governmental Land Entitlement System issued by the Royal Decree No 81/84 , the Tender Board Law issued by the Royal Decree No 36/2008 and the Regulation for the Ownership of Governmental Commercial cum residential and commercial cum industrial Lands issued by the Royal Decree 60/2007.

As per the new Regulation, the applicant should be an Omani natural person who is not less than 23-year-old at the time of submitting the application. An applicant may apply only for two land plots at maximum.

As per article four related to applications for lands to be used for petrol stations, the previous requirements should be met in addition to the new requirements such as applying for only one land plot not less than 3000 square meters – unless the need dictates otherwise.

As per article six a Bid Committee will be formed at the Ministry upon a decision from the minister of housing.

The committee will be chaired by the undersecretary of the Ministry of housing and should have two representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Secretariat General for Planning.

The Committee will be in charge of specifying the land plot for which bids will be submitted, the data and requirements for each land plot, the services available for it, getting approval for use as a petrol station by public tender and deciding the market value (the base value) for each land plot before offering for bidders. The Committee shall seek valuation from three real estate offices for each land plot.

As per the new regulation, the Ministry has to publish ads about the offered land plots at a daily newspaper, the Ministry’s website three times; the first before 40 days from the bidding day , the second before 30 days from the bidding day and the third before 15 days from the said data.

The ad should include the basic information about the land plots on offer, the date for submitting applications and the date of opening bids.

Bidders should be mandated to submit a banking guarantee 5% of the value of the bid in the name of the Ministry of Finance. It should be associated with the bid. The ad may include any other data deemed necessary by the Ministry.

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OVER VIEW

ITCs link real estate with tourism

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he Royal Decree 12/2006, allows non Omanis to own properties at the integrated tourism complexes (ITCs).

The decree paved the way for important changes at the tourism and real estate sector as it allowed Omanis and nonOmanis to own property at

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ITCs which provided investors and real estate buyers with high quality units.

The ITC attracted a number of investors and helped in casting light on the luxury property market in the Sultanate. It also provides unique experience for those looking for high quality

lifestyle. It provided the tourism sector with many leisure facilities such as gold courses, marinas and elite hotels. The projects helped in augmenting the integrating between real estate and tourism sector. Six ITCs have been planned for Muscat, South Al Sharqiyah

and Dhofar, with some of them already operational and some are underway. They all include luxurious facilities and amenities.

The ITCs have become added value to the tourism sector and a model for successful partnership between the private and public

sectors. Experts believe that the Sultanate experience is a role model that will be replicated by many countries.

The ITCs have been also included in ‘ Tanfeedh’ initiatives for enhancing the growth of tourism sector.

The Ministry of Tourism

also continues its efforts, in cooperation with other stakeholders, to promote for the Sultanate, simplify tourism investment procedures and eliminate the challenges that face investors by making the business environment more attractive and investor-friendly.

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INTERVIEW

H.E Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism ITC targets activating tourism and attracting investments

The Omani strategy proposes 14 areas for tourism projects The Ministry of Tourism attaches maximum importance in facilitating investments in tourism projects in various parts of the Sultanate. Special emphasis is made on hotel facilities that meet the needs of the market and also improving the quality of services rendered to tourists.

There are six integrated tourism projects (ITCs), some of which have been completed and some at different stages of construction. These projects help in promoting tourism activities and attracting domestic and foreign investments as well.

H.E Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism said that the Ministry attaches special care to facilitating investment in the accommodation facilities and improving the quality of services rendered at the various government. There has been a remarkable growth in the hotel facilities and other tourism projects in various parts of the Sultanate to meet the needs of the market.

These were highlighted by H.E Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrazi, Minister of Tourism in an interview with Aqar Oman.

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Excerpts from the interview:

Over the past years, the Sultanate has witnessed a number of integrated tourism complexes. What are the aims of such projects?

The ITC projects, implemented in partnership with the private sector, aim at promoting the tourism activity in the Sultanate and attracting foreign investments. Moreover, these projects help in meeting the needs of the market.

What are the major ITC project, whether completed or underway?

The key ITC projects include Salalah Beach Resort in the area between Khor Soli in the wilayat of Salalah and Khor Taqa. It includes 3 hotels with 700 room, 1000 residential units, marine, golf course and 186 serviced apartments. A number of housing units has been completed as the first stage of the project. The 65-room Juwairah Hotel and the 400-room Rotana Hotel have been opened. The Marina and Al Fanar Hotel, with a capacity of 302 rooms, have been opened as well.

There is also Saraya Bandar Al Jissah in Barr Al Jissah area in the wilayat of Muscat. It includes two 326-room

Emphasis on tourism growth

hotels, residential units and leisure facilities. The ground level work has been completed and work is underway at the infrastructure for some of the project’s components.

Al Mouj Project, in the marine façade between Aziba and Al Seeb, includes four hotels, 18hole golf course, leisure facilities, marine and commercial centers have been completed. A number of housing units were opened alongside with the Walk. Work is underway to complete the remainder construction works.

Jibel Sifa project includes four 500-room hotels, 8000 housing unit, 200-boat marina, gold course and a number of serviced apartments. Ras Al Hadd Resort

in the wilayat of Sur also includes 250-room hotels, residential units, retail shops and restaurants.

Omagen project, in Al Hail, includes two hotels, housing units, marina, retail outlets, restaurants and leisure facilities.

What are the priorities in Tanfeedh Program, with relation to tourism projects?

The implementation of tourism initiatives in Tanfeedh program will start in 2017 with the new state budget for 2017. The identified projects have been divided into groups as some are related to tourism development and others are related to the systems. These initiatives will be implemented

with our stakeholders and private investors. They will be supported

by Tanfeedh support and follow up unit.

The Ministry has developed 2040 Tourism Strategy.

What are the main executive programs included in the strategy?

Tourism Strategy 2040 has identified 14 areas for tourism projects at the different parts of the Sultanate. Each tourism complex includes a number of tourism projects, services and facilities that meet the needs of each tourism area.

We have also prepared the master plan for the tourism investment area. Currently, we are focusing

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INTERVIEW on Muscat, Dhofar, Al Dakhiliyah, Musandam and Ras Al Hadd. To this end, we signed a contract with a consultancy company to prepare the detailed study for Dhofar. The study, which will be completed in six months, will help us in marketing our projects as it will include integrated action plans.

There is a growing interest of the private sector in tourism project and hopefully the number of tourists would be increased to 11 million by the end of 2040. This will increase the number of fresh jobs created by the sector.

What are the major indicators for growth in the sector in terms of the number of visitors, new tourism facilities and other indicators as well?

The Sultanate’s government is making steady efforts to ensure optimum utilization of its resources and enhance its position at the world tourism map. A number of tourism projects has been implemented in 2015 in addition to developing the tourism services in a number of tourism attractions.

The added value to the hotel and restaurants in the Sultanate stood at 226 million in 2015. The added value to the tourism sector in general stood at RO748.6 million.

On the other hand, the number of inbound tourists including the cruise ships visitors increased to 2.6 million in 2015; a growth by 17.7% compared to 2014. The number of visitors to the Sultanate by the end of September 2016 stood at 2.3 million.

On the other hand, the Ministry attaches special care to provide accommodation facilities and facilitating investment at the sector. It also intensifies the efforts made to increase the number of hotel rooms and improve the quality of services rendered at the different hotel facilities at the various governorates. The projects that have been opened this year helped in increasing the number

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The number of hotels now stands at 351 after the value additions this year of available rooms for tourists and also enhanced competitions among operation in terms of services and rates. The number of hotel facilities as of June 2016 stood at 351 compared to 318 at the end of 2015.

The Strategy includes a number of initiatives that encourage the involvement of the private sector in developing the tourism development in the Sultanate. Are the available opportunities attractive for the private sector?

The Sultanate provides investors with attractive investor-friendly environment. About RO18.936 billion are needed to implement the projects identified in Tourism Strategy 2040, of which 88% will be by the private sector. The Sultanate has great potentials that qualify it to become a prominent tourist destination. Moreover,

the Sultanate has wise and stable economic policies and high quality infrastructure. Over and above all, the Sultanate is one the leading countries in the world level in terms of political stability and high level of safety and security.

Endeavors are also made regularly to update the laws and regulation to make them attractive to local and foreign tourists as well. The Tourism Strategy is thus expected to address many of the challenges facing investors in this regard.

The Omani government also provides investors with many incentives that included reduced or tax exemption, no income tax and flexible taxation system that provides five-year exemption renewable for similar period/ periods. Investors are also granted land usufruct agreements that allow them to utilize lands for fifty years’ renewable. The investors also have the right to get residence for himself and his family for five years as per the laws and regulations in the Sultanate. Some investors can also get exemption from land usufruct fees for five years renewable.

Are there any plans to set up a single window for tourism investors?

The government is making great endeavors to simplify the procedures and transform into a digital society by providing

the e-government services to all sectors. The Ministry of Tourism has conducted a comprehensive review for all its translations and reengineered them. The Ministry also launched an e-portal for processing all applications and permits to save investors’ time and effort. The system automatically updates applicants on the status of their applications. The system eliminates the need to visit the Ministry’s headquarter to process application or getting updates on them. The applicants will receive updates when the transaction is accepted. In this regard, it should be noted that the customer service center at the Ministry’s HQs answers any queries by investors.

The Ministry also documented the services it provides at a comprehensive manual that provides a description of all the services approved by it. The manual has been approved by the Ministry of Civil Service and has been uploaded at the Ministry’s website. The initial and final permits for the hotel projects have been merged at one application since the beginning of July. We also cancelled the requirement

to get approval from the wali and made a single requirement; an undertaking not to cause inconvenience to neighbors.

We also excluded the requirement about the size for receiving the applications to build hotel subject to complying with the classification system. We also expanded the period of initial approval to the accommodation projects from six months to one year. To reduce centralization, we also provided the Directorate General of Tourism in Dhofar and other governorates as well with the needed powers to process the applications submitted to them.

The tourism sector relies heavily on expatriates. Has the strategy provided solutions to enhance Omanization levels at the sector facilities?

The implementation of tourism strategy will enhance the growth of the tourism industry which in turn will result in creating a considerable number of fresh job opportunities at the Omani labor market. The number of jobs related to the market in 2014 is expected to be more than 50,000. These

job opportunities will contribute the growth of the Omani national economy and will increase the number of SMEs servicing the sector to 1200 by 2040.

To translate the vision of into reality, we need to enhance the quality of tourism services continuously. This requires the development of human capital in tourism industry as they help in building strong relations between foreign investment, creation of job opportunities and development of local communities. Reaching global levels and increasing Omanization levels requires the collaboration of all efforts and continuous work to polish the skills of workers at the sector. We need also to impart new technologies and utilize new tools in developing the human capital in tourism industry.

We need also to ensure diversity of the tourism jobs through fostering the tourism education and training system and improving the quality of our outputs. If we do this, I am confident that the Omani talents will be added value to the growth of tourism sector and the realization of Tourism Strategy 2040.

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INITIATIVES

All-round growth with Tanfeedh

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ANFEEDH, National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification programme in Oman, was established with the aim to increase Oman’s GDP in three focus sectors from RO4.9 billion in 2015 to RO6.6 billion in 2020 to ensure that 80 per cent of suggested initiatives are financed by the private sector as opposed to full dependency on the government, and to generate around 30,000 jobs for local talents throughout implementation.

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The three main sectors -manufacturing, logistic and tourism -- as well as two economic enablers -- finance and labour -- all of which are the result of rigorous discussions held in 2016 and attended by more than 250 participants representing 160 public and private organisations.

The tourism sector is expected to receive 2.7 million international tourists and attract RO1.8 billion in private investment, creating a value add of RO1.05 billion and doubling the current employment figures. The tourism sector lab

proposed projects in light of 2020 targets such as attracting private investments of at least RO1.8 billion, increase international tourist arrival from 1.9 million to at least 2.7 million and create 10,000 jobs for Omanis in the sector.

The lab called for privatisation of management of nature and heritage sites as well as protected areas, develop a year-round calendar of events, create iconic tourism projects and cultural F&B precincts, easing land and usufruct processing, among

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INITIATIVES

other initiatives.

The finance lab focused on two work streams, which are project financing as well as improving business environment. One of the proposed initiatives is the establishment of real estate investment trusts to allow developers to sell their properties to funds where individuals can invest in.

The lab also proposed establishing a project management corporation to oversee all government project implementation in order to ensure projects are implemented within the time frame and budget.

Being one of the essential themes highlighted in the 9th fiveyear plan, the manufacturing lab proposed an energy policy that calls for investing in renewable

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The lab also proposed establishing a project management corporation to oversee all government project implementation in order to ensure projects are implemented within the time frame and budget

energy, so that 10 per cent of the energy generated will be from renewable sources by 2025.

This includes generating at least 2500MW of solar power and 500MW of wind power by 2025.

It also proposes adopting alternative non-renewable resources to include consumption of coal in the manufacturing industry regulated by the international environmental standards. The policy also suggested ways to merge the institutions with energy into a unified entity to ensure abiding by the applicable energy policies.

The Logistic Strategy 2040 aims to create a logistic hub in order to contribute to Oman’s GDP and generate increased investment of RO4.2bn by 2020. Making a mark

in logistics will depend on making processes cheaper, faster and simpler. The proposed initiatives in the logistic lab aim to boost infrastructure and connectivity whether by the introducing a 337-km rail line from Duqm to Shuwaymiyah in order to develop the untapped potential of the mining sector in Oman.

It also calls for improve land connectivity between the sultanate and the GCC, which will provide direct access to an additional 35mn potential customers. Once of the opportunities suggested is expanding the Salalah Port, which involves increasing port container capacity by 50 per cent, from 5 to 7.5mn TEU. The lab calls for enhancing the digital platform Bayan to become a hub for clearance and inspection

processes, reducing the processing time from eight days to less than a day.

Furthermore, a Cargo Village is proposed to optimise and integrate the cargo terminals in airports in order to create the ideal conditions for Oman to increase its air freight for imports, exports, re-exports, trans-shipments and express courier centres.

On the labour sector front, the private sector cites labor restrictions as one of the major impediments to growth, as captured by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. The sultanate anticipates a youth bulge in the coming years, with a total of 44,000 new entrants expected each year between 2016 and 2020.

In order to bridge the demand and supply of labour, a comprehensive package of solutions have been developed and proposed. Some of the initiatives are a one-window labour clearance, which will reduce the process from months to only five days, improve parttime policies and introducing national occupational standards for qualification development and workforce appraisals.

Based on an eight-step Malaysian methodology, the participants who took part in the six-week labs were tasked to detail programmes and initiatives and transform strategies from the 30,000-feet approach to the three feet, a method that would pave the way for establishing measurable results.

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PERSPECTIVE

Major projects to boost tourism W

ith the launch of the 9th Five-Year Development Plan and Oman Tourism Strategy 2016-2040, several major tourism projects have been announced in a bid to attract foreign investment and increase the number of tourism projects. The projects seek to enhance growth in the number of tourists to be in line with Oman Tourism Strategy and contribute to economic diversification.

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Maximizing the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP is one of the components of the national diversification program.

Among the key projects that have been announced are the Mina Qaboos Waterfront and Ras al Hadd Waterfront. The list also includes a number of integrated tourism complexes (ITC). These projects will complement the other projects implemented in the different economic sectors to enhance the growth of the national economy.

The tourism sector also seeks to provide high quality tourist

Measures are already in place to facilitate the process of issuing tourism licenses

attractions that can create many business opportunities in the nearby communities.

These projects also seek to enhance the tourism and commercial investments and create modern lifestyles that meet the needs and aspiration of the families of Omanis, expatriates and tourists.

During the past period, Omran launched the first stage of Mina Qaboos Waterfront project, which stretches over 64 hectares.

The project is a milestone achievement as part of the efforts made by the sultanate to promote the tourism sector. It is also one

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PERSPECTIVE of the major projects that will provide an important economic dimension at the regional level.

Once completed by 2020, the project, implemented by Omran, will be an impressive leap for the tourism sector. It will lead to the creation of high quality utilities and services that will promote the tourism sector in the Governorate of Muscat.

The project, which is expected to play a role in the growth of tourism sector in the coming 20 years, has several components that will attract visitors from inside and abroad including a commercial and residential complex, six threestar, four-star and five-star hotels in addition to a marina for yachts and cruise ships.

The foundation stone of Diar Ras Al Hadd Tourism Project has been laid. The Diar Ras Al Hadd will stretch over about 200 hectares of land at a cost of RO 250 million. The project includes hotels, retail and cultural outlets, residential villas and water parks.

The location has been selected due to the moderate weather almost all the year and its proximity to Ras al Hadd Turtle Sanctuary.

The project embodies the strong ties between the Sultanate and the sisterly State of Qatar in all fields including the economic field, such as tourism which is very promising, thanks to the encouraging tourism potentials of the Sultanate which attract investors and visitors from the different parts of the world.

The project will house different hotels and accommodation units, parks and environmental decks as well as other attractions, making the project an all-inclusive tourist destination.

This will be the first project of its

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kind to be developed in Sharqiyah, which will provide numerous employment opportunities for the residents of the area, as well as attract tourists which will enrich the local economy.

On the other hand, much headway has been made in improving the

quality of services rendered to tourists at the tourist sites in Dhofar and Al Jabal Al Akhdar. The Ministry of Tourism seeks to turn Al Jabal Al Akhdar into a major regional and international tourist destination. Work is underway in a number of tourism ventures that

will bring numerous benefits for the local communities.

Moreover, measures have been taken to facilitate the process of issuing tourism licenses. Some SMEs have already benefited from the available business opportunities. SMEs are expected

to play an active role in meeting the needs of the tourism sector.

The air travel services have also seen remarkable improvement over the past year. Work is underway at Muscat International Airport to enhance its capacity.

A year ago, Salalah new airport

has been opened for traffic and can now receive direct flights from the GCC states. Work is also underway at a number of regional airports to facilitate domestic travel to the key cities in the Sultanate. Some of these airports have already started operation.

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INTERVIEW

Al Mouj Muscat in growth trajectory

Aqar Oman caught up with Nasser bin Masoud Al Sheibani, CEO of Al Mouj Muscat for interview, he revealed that so far, the numbers of the sold housing units at Al Mouj Muscat are more than 2,200 properties, including villas, townhouses and apartments. Over 1,730 properties have already been delivered to the buyers. Al Sheibani Confirmed. In addition to that, the community of Al Mouj Muscat comprises nearly 7,000 people from 70 different nationalities, 45% of owners are Omanis citizens, and the other 55% of our clients are of other nationalities, leaded by European, Asian nationalities, then other nationalities from different countries, including Arab states, the CEO added.

Here are the details of the interveiw: How the developing process are going in the hospitality facilities (hotels) at Al Mouj Muscat?

Among these projects is Kempinski Hotel, a five-star hotel, boasting 309 rooms and suites as well as 77 hotel apartments. It located adjacent to Al Mouj Marina on the waterfront, where it includes exciting food and beverage outlets, and other several entertainment facilities.

In addition to that, there is Shaza Hotel, which is an internationally branded four- star hotel enjoying

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an enviable position adjacent to Al Mouj Marina, and The Walk at Al Mouj Muscat. This 190 room’s hotel will provide ample facilities and services to both the business and leisure segments. He continued.

As an affirmation of our commitment to support the tourism sector in the Sultanate, we are planning to announce additional hospitality and leisure facilities in 2017.

To what extent do you see the contribution of Al Mouj Muscat towards the achievement of its

targets?

Thankfully, the project is progressing in accordance to the plan which has been laid down for it. It contributes effectively to the employment of Omani citizens. So the Omanisation percentage in the company has reached 75%. While the project and its contractors have contributed in providing about 6000 direct jobs opportunities till 2015.

We also give priority to the small and medium enterprises through creating business opportunities and projects for them, in order to

Two hotels are to be inaugurated this year, other hospitality and leisure facilities to be announced soon Al Mouj Muscat provided about 6,000 direct job opportunities till 2015 and attracted $600 million of foreign investment

help these enterprises to set up businesses in the retail sector at Al Mouj.

As for foreign investment the project has successfully attracted $600 million up to end of 2016.

Being the first integrated tourist project in the Sultanate.

Did Al Mouj Muscat became an attractive tourism destination?

Statistics indicate that, about 10 thousand visitors come to Al Mouj Muscat every day to enjoy its various recreational facilities, restaurants, and cafes, including Marina facing restaurants the

The community of Al Mouj Muscat comprises 7,000 residents of 70 different nationalities with 45% of owners being Omanis

first of its kind in the Sultanate.

Al Mouj attracts good number of tourist at its Golf course and Marina facilities.

Al Mouj Muscat world class amenities enabled the Sultanate to host international events. We believe that, organizing and hosting sport events, plays an important and integral role in tourism promotion.

Al Mouj Golf, the world’s first golf course of 18-holes in the Sultanate, hosted the European challenge tour for three consecutive years. It also won numerous international

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INTERVIEW awards, while it ranks 2nd among the top ten courses in the Middle East.

Al Mouj Marina has succeeded in hosting the Extreme Sailing series, American’s Cup and gulf craft yacht’s regional boat show.

2017 will see the last piece of the puzzle completed by the opening of the first two hotels and will cement Al Mouj Muscat position as Oman’s premier lifestyle and tourism destination.

As from your points of views, what are the main factors that involved in the successes of the project?

There are several factors involved in the success march of Al Mouj Muscat, such as the followings: PRIME LOCATION Oceanfront living at the heart of the country’s thriving capital city and just 10 minutes’ drive from the international airport.

STRONG BACKING The long term commitment and aligned vision of the government of Oman, Majid Al Futtaim and Tanmia has enabled Al Mouj Muscat to become a market leader and set a benchmark for regional ITC projects.

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Al Mouj Muscat, leading ITC project in Oman, has sold more than 2,200 housing units and its market share reached 75% as per statistics available from the Ministry of Tourism

GUARANTEED DELIVERY WITH QUALITY More than 1,730 top quality residential units have already been delivered. The golf course and the marina are operational and have won international awards. 70 retail and F&B outlets are operating.

Two hotels are currently being built. Strict sign off processes have been put in place before properties are handed over to owners, one of

the region’s few ISO accredited developers. Al Mouj Muscat has been showered with more than 20 international awards for its quality of design, build and facilities.

Reports of the real estate valuation companies show that, Al Mouj Muscat is the least affected by the economical crisis that resulted from the decline of oil prices. What is your explanation for that?

We were never being a project on papers only and continuously delivered on our promise. We have also built the main infrastructure and key facilities at the early stages of the project, such as the cooling plant, Marina, Golf Course, retails units and parks. Followed by delivering the residential units on time with the required quality, and bringing the vibrant community of 70 nationalities with proper facilities and community management processes in place.

In addition, celebrating life via regular events at our premises.

This allowed us to become the first and ideal choice for home owners, investors and visitors as we created a good reputation and trust thus it was one of the least affected by the economic crisis caused by the decline of oil prices.

What legislations and incentives that needed for the integrated tourism complexes projects in Oman?

Al Sheibani said: In terms of the business environment, we see great efforts made by the government in order to improve the competitive capabilities of the Omani economy

and the recent Tanfeedh initiative is a testimony of this.

Key issues that needed to be resolved for the integrated tourism projects are, to simplify and facilitate the granting of visas to foreigners in order to attract investment from overseas into the ITCs, simplifying and allowing

the availing of banking facilities to purchase properties at ITC by non-Omanis and non-residents in Oman and simplify the approvals and permits of developments and manpower by the various government entities, and complete the 18th of November upgrade project, Al Sheibani concluded.

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‫ددعلا فلم‬

INTERVIEW

Professor Dr. Heba Aziz

is a tourism expert and head of the department of logistics, tourism and service management at the Faculty of Business and Economics the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech).

She was caught by the Aqar magazine for an interview

A good place to live is a good place to visit T he Sultanate of Oman has witnessed implementation of a number of integrated tourism complex (ITC) projects over the last years, including Al Mouj Muscat and other projects executed by Muriya Company in Dhofar and Sifah in Muscat governorate.

The projects are carried out in accordance with the development agreements between the government and investors.

The agreements include allocation of land plots for investors to implement real estate and hotel projects as well as some entertainment and commercial facilities, as per the conditions that determine building space and the ratio of property units to hotel and other commercial facilities.

The ITC projects aim to attract and encourage investments in real estate and tourism sectors and allow foreign investors to own properties in the Sultanate.

According to Royal Decree No. 12/2006 about non-Omani ownership in the ITC, both foreigners and Omanis are allowed to own a property in the integrated tourism complexes.

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The ITC projects in Oman have been a big success as a large number of investors – both nationals and foreigners -- invest in properties including villas and apartments in these high quality complexes.

One of the important advantages of ITCs is that they help revitalize the surrounding areas and villages to become part of the development.

Accordingly, the prices of properties and land plots in the area may soar, which might have some negative implications on the local communities sometimes.

At the same time, the ITCs may have a negative impact on on the local community. This has been proved to be a common issue in the famous tourist destination like Venice

City, Italy, which has lost its original inhabitants, because of the influx from the large number of tourists leading to population-repellent climate.

Very often, residents could cash in on these developments as they generated remarkable earnings by selling their land, and buying properties in other areas, which are away from the hustles and bustles of the urban life. There are similar cases in the other global destinations such as Wales in the UK, some Greek cities and Marrakesh in Morocco, where owners sold their properties and moved to other areas after prices rose remarkably at their home towns and after the towns have attracted so many foreign residents that it did not feel like “home” to the community anymore.

However, there are many positive impacts of ITCs as they bring in remarkable improvement in the standards of infrastructure, facilities and services. For example, the Shangri La hotel in Barr Al Jissah has encouraged construction of the Qantab road. led to building a road across mountains. The road connects the tourist complex as well as the residents of villages around the complex.

The global experiences prove that local communities get many benefits as result of new infrastructures and services provided in tourism areas.

Definitely, integrated environment in a successful tourist destination provides a lifestyle of high quality. For example, Salalah airport was established to boost tourist traffic in Dhofar governorate.

Now the facility is proved to be a of benefit to citizens as well. The new airport allowed for better connectivity to new destinations and made available hundreds of job opportunities. . This is a tradeoff between life and tourism as citizens benefit from the project and tourism gets a revival.

Meanwhile, one of the important concerns at the tourism development areas is how to make sure of a balanced growth to avoid the occurrence of changes or an imbalance in the social composition of population in addition to other negative aspects such as activities conflicting with local values and traditions.

To maintain the growth balance, the local community should be given opportunities to benefit from such developments . These opportunities should increase when the communities are so close to tourism locations. Some tourism complexes bid even to lure the local populace and maintain its identity. They benefit from the nearby villages as a tourist attraction, which on the other hand help the resident get an opportunity to establish small projects to make a living.

The balanced tourism development needs to take into account the interests of the local community. The government along with investors should set an agenda so that social responsibility requirements are met and they are mutually beneficial to the investors and the community.

On the international level, we find that tourism complexes are established to lure tourists through the integrated services provided to them. The Sultanate adopted the idea of building integrated tourism complexes for two purposes; the first is to confine foreign ownership to specific areas and the second is to attract foreign investments that find large scale and mixed use development of interest for them; such resorts will for sure increase government revenues and create employment.

To achieve the development targets of ITCs, real estate units should not

outnumber hotel units for the purpose of attracting of investments and creating job opportunities. The hotel units and entertainment projects such as restaurants create more business and job opportunities; for example, the ratio of employees to guests at some luxurious facilities in Dubai reaches 7:1. The higher the level of hotel or a tourist facility increases, the more the number of employees it is likely to hire.

On the other hand, there are some standards that should be applied to balance the investors goals of recording strong returns and the government goals of achieving its strategic objectives that are represented in creating more job opportunities for young people and an added value for the national economy.

The most prominent standards include maintaining the proportion of hotel rooms and real estate component in the integrated tourism projects at 1:1, which means a hotel room for each real estate unit as a minimum.

To achieve a qualitative leap in the tourism sector, each country should identify the competitive advantage of its tourism sector For example, the beach tourism resorts are comparable in many countries, but beaches are not be enough for countries seeking to attract more high end tourists.

In this aspect, tourism statistics for 2015 shows that more than 50% of international tourists, who

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INTERVIEW reach 1.2 billion, are looking for entertainment and recreation. This is a very important slice of tourists, but the Sultanate, which has nature, culture and heritage, is also keen to on implementing the concept of selective tourism meaning fewer numbers with higher spending powers willing to go beyond the beach front. That type will have a positive impact on realizing regional socio-economic development in Oman’s many beautiful regions and governorates. Despite a fewer number of international eco-tourists, their spending is much higher than leisure tourists. Eco-tourists spend much to see the unique environmental landmarks, thus catering for that niche market is important, by providing a unique integrated experience by investing in eco-lodges etc. The competitive advantage of the Sultanate is a mixture of nature, culture and heritage.

Oman’s new tourism strategy focuses on creating unique unforgettable experiences. For example, Misfat Al Abriyeen village with its recently established heritage home definitely a unique tourism experiences. All over Oman, one finds can see tourism many cultural and natural attractions ; local communities should be incentivized and trained totap into such opportunities and develop tourism related SMEs in food and beverages, accommodation, transportation and tour guiding.

Now the question arises as to how much can these tourism SMEs benefit nationals and the local economy.

In fact, the development of a local tourism environment achieves social and financial stability in the local community and ends the phenomenon of moving to a big city to look for job opportunities.

Tourism SMEs help citizens to settle at their home village and generate strong financial returns, because tourists spend more to buy local products and to enjoy a unique life experience at these unique villages.

Tourism sector is distinguished by feasible financial earnings, and is considered the sole sector creating a direct relation between the tourist and project owner in many cases without a mediator. Thus this type of tourism projects increase in country value and

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An integrated environment that provides high-quality lifestyle is a successful tourist destination, and this is a tradeoff between life and tourism limit leakages outside the economy.

International hotel groups operating in any country have a high percentage of leakages as they are expected offer international products. Most of their products are imported like furniture, food, beverages and flowers. On the contrary, we find that tourists visit the heritage projects and local tourist experiences to see how people live and what they eat. Tourists also buy their products and eat from their food.

Thus, the number of special interest tourists might be less yet their economic contribution and theit in country value is much higher.

In addition, residents of villages and towns far from the center are more likely to work in tourism sector and to establish a tourism project since there is usually fewer other economic alternatives like the case in

Sharqia governorates and the Sharqia Sands; this increase the level of local participation and brings the government closer to its strategic goals. The most successful example in this regard is the Al Sharqiya Sands Desert that provides unique experiences for tourists. There are not many economic alternatives to tourism in that area. the tourism sector is now quite beneficial to the locals living in that area. . This reflects one of the most creative aspects of tourism; namely the sector’s ability to generate an economic value from natural and historical attractions such as deserts, mountains and even birds providing the decision makers with a rational and not an emotional argument to preserve and protect such fragile assets. . For example, the rare birds flying in the sky of the Sultanate are beautiful to watch but do not on their own have an economic value; however, thousands of tourists come every year to watch them in Oman Thus, they have an economic value represented in tourists’ spending on transportation, accommodation , guide services and car rental.

Beside the economic feasibility of the cultural, environmental and heritage tourism attractions, tourism encourages the restoration of the archeological and environmental sites, we notice that some tourism attractions may need high costs related to the restoration of monuments and the preservation of environmental sites. Tourism sector generate a good economic value to finance any needed restoration.

Tourism also provides an incentive to keep alive traditional arts and crafts, like traditional music and dances, pottery, silver smith, carpet weaving etc. . These crafts are now sought after by the tourists and continuing the tradition of producing such crafts is not becoming a lucrative source of income. Previously preserving this heritage always was always driven by emotions; now there is a valid economic reason to revive hands and crafts.

The National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh) aims to the create of 10,000 job opportunities for Omani youth and attracting new private investments worth RO 1.8 billion OMR by 2020. In addition, targets also include increasing the number of foreign tourists to reach 2.7 million by 2020 and to increase tourism value added to reach , 1.05 billion OMR. .

These targets will turn tourism into a promising sector able to lure investments and accelerate the social and economic development in Oman.

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RESEARCH

The ITC experience T

he integrated tourism complex (ITC) experience in the Sultanate has been a success as it provides a unique model of luxury residential units that can attract investments to the real estate market in the country. They also provide an opportunity for freehold by foreigners.

These views were expressed by Khalid al Ansari, Partner, KPMG, a leading professional service provider in the world.

The ITC provides an attractive investment opportunity for serious investors who are looking for tourism sector in the Sultanate especially the government provides them with many incentives and facilities. Moreover, the Sultanate is well-known for its strategic location, proximity to the international markets, political stability, economic growth and high degree of security. It is also known for its ability to maintain public debts at safe level, stable

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national currency and sound financial policies.

The Omani government is pursuing a plan to diversify sources of national economy and reduce reliance on oil and gas.

Many measures have been also taken to promote transparency and provide investors with investorfriendly business environment.

The Sultanate is also a member of the WTO, the GCC Market and has Free Trade Agreements with countries such as Singapore, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

The Sultanate laws allow foreigners to own 100 per cent of their projects at the free zones.

The government also provides investors with tax benefits such as imposing no income tax or any restrictions on capital gains or profit transfers. Investors are also provided with custom exemption for the imported machinery and raw materials for their projects for

five years from starting production.

The Sultanate provides investors with high quality infrastructure that includes modern ports, airports and roads.

Khalid Al Ansari pointed out that a comprehensive study was conducted by KPMG in collaboration with the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development ‘Ithraa’ and Al Mouj Muscat about the key available investment opportunities in the Sultanate. The study pointed out that the construction sector is one of the very promising economic sectors and a driver for economic growth in the Sultanate.

Over the past year, the construction sector has witnessed remarkable growth in line with the growth of population and opening the door for foreigners to own properties at the ITCs. Moreover, the banking sector has provided investors with the required finance. The study praised the government high

expenditure on the infrastructure projects.

Before 2002, ownership of property was limited only to Omanis. Starting from 2006, the government opened the door for foreigners to own properties at the ITC projects which aimed at providing momentum to tourism sector in the Sultanate. The real estate sector in the Sultanate is expected to continue its growth especially a considerable number of the Sultanate’s population are youths.

The ITCs provides foreign investors with many incentives such as freehold. The systems allow joint ownership with two of the first-degree relatives. The local inheritance system applies on the owned properties at ITC. The laws allow owners of a property at the ITC to have a residence for himself and first degree relatives in

addition to a multiple visa during the construction of the project. The first registration of the property is made without any fees.

Investors seeking to benefit from the incentives provided by the Sultanate’s government may benefit from investor-friendly laws and regulations. The Royal Decree No 6/89 mandates owners to register the lease contracts with the Municipality if the lease period is more than 7 years. The owner has also to register the lease contract with the Ministry of Housing.

The contract may be renewed one month before expiry. If renewal is not made, it will be deemed expired.

The Ministry of Housing is the agency in charge of real estate sectors. The Ministry registers land plots and carry out ownership transfers against certain fees. While Omanis can own property any

place in the Sultanate, foreigners may own property at the ITCs only – as per the Royal Decree 12/2006.

The Omani government provides real estate investors with many incentives such as easy finance through the traditional banks and Islamic windows. The banks may finance up to 80% of the value of the property subject that the loan installment is not more than 60% of the investor’s monthly income.

To avoid any problems with such projects, the banks enter into a tripartite agreement among buyer, the developer and the bank.

Al Mouj is one of the most notable ITCs in the Sultanate. The project, which is the first of its kind in the Sultanate achieved great success as a major destination for those looking for modern styles.

Al Mouj Muscat has translated the traditional Omani lifestyle into a model, practical and an adaptive master plan by embracing new standards for quality, design, amenity, and construction.

As the Sultanate’s first integrated resort and residential development, incorporating around 6,000 new homes, a 400-berth marina, Oman’s first 18 hole PGA championship golf course, premier international hotels and new retail, leisure and dining opportunities, Al Mouj Muscat has something for Omanis and non-Omanis as well.

Al Ansari pointed out that while some ITC projects have achieved great success, some has not achieved the same level of success. He added that success of such projects depends on a number of factors such as attractiveness to investors, unique designs and amenities.

Al Ansari believes that the success of the Sultanate’s experience qualifies it to become a model in real estate development especially for countries that places restrictions onto foreigner’s ownership.

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INTERVIEW

Al Hafeez: Tourism sector seeks integrated solutions

A

bdullah Al Hafeez, vice chairman of the International Union for Development and Investment (IUDI), is one of the new generation who entered the world of business with new innovative ideas. He decided to provide the tourism sector with a real added value that contributes to boosting its performance, especially as this sector lacks organization and real management for fulfilling the needs of tourists.

IUDI is specialized in running tourist facilities and offers a unique experience to the Omani tourism sector through introducing the first local brand “Weekend”. This brand offers highquality services to tourist facilities especially three-star hotels and below.

In an interview with “Aqar Oman”, Al Hafeez said the lowest-rated hotels sector still lacks organization despite the urgent need for hotels providing distinguished services for low-income tourists. IUDI that has local and foreign investors decided to provide an added

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value for European tourists who look for good places at good prices.

“At the beginning, the company studied the market needs and made comparisons with the global tourism experiences.

The study showed that the sector lacks tourist facilities for low-income tourists, and the specialized hotel management is the most important factor for the success of tourist,” Al Hafeez said.

He added that his company’s partners have extensive experience in regional and global tourist destinations, noting that IUDI started its activities with the lease of a hotel facility to turn it into a hotel offering services like the ones provided by five-star hotels.

“We faced several difficulties in obtaining the licenses, but we persisted in continuing to achieve success. Our brand “Weekend” has strong presence in the domestic market through a diversified portfolio of tourist facilities that we manage. Such facilities include a hotel having a meeting hall, restaurant

and cafe, and all of which are highly managed,” the vice chairman said.

He added that after a year and a half from launching operations, the company won several awards and high ratings from tourist entities and websites such as “Booking.com” “TripAdvisors”.

“We seek to expand in the management of other tourist facilities locally and globally. Our goal is to acquire the largest number of tourist facilities to manage and market our brand as a successful Omani brand reflect the viewpoints and needs of tourists.”

Al Hafeez also said IUDI aims to offer more services and facilities to tourists through its future projects that include health clubs and swimming pools.

“Thanks to our distinguished facilities, nearly 70% of our tourists come from Europe. We also have innovative ideas such as the management of integrated tourist facilities that provide a full range of services and entertainment facilities for families.”

We faced several difficulties in obtaining the licenses, but we persisted in continuing to achieve success - Abdullah Al Hafeez, vice chairman of IUDI The improvement of the brand “Weekend” took longer time to reflect the distinguishing feature of hotel furniture that applies five-star standards as well as the internal designs of each story. In addition, the designs rely on creativity, rich colors and other details that make up the corporate identity. The company mainly focused on linking the brand in the minds of customers to better services offered at competitive prices.

“With the success of our leading experience, several entrepreneurs resort to us before carrying out their tourism projects. We offer them expert advice in light of our experience in hotel management and tourism sector.

We often amend the project designs to include facilities that can be used effectively to serve the project purposes, starting from the architectural designs to the designs of internal facilities,” Al Hafeez said.

He added that the major challenge which the company seeks to overcome is that the culture of hotel management is not common in the three-star tourist facilities. IUDI aims to change this reality and convinces small hotels of the importance of management in offering high-quality services. It also determines hotel weaknesses and tries to overcome them, because tourism is an integrated concept aiming to satisfy customer needs.

Commenting on his experience in tourism, Al Hafeez said tourism investment requires hard work and patience to reap fruit from the project.

He added that this kind of business deserves exerting efforts because it offers an added value to the national economy.

“The importance of tourism resides in the fact that it boost several sectors such as real estate, transportation and services. There are several countries with weak tourism capabilities, but they succeeded in establishing their footholds on the tourism map because of adopting integrated tourism growth concepts and understanding customer requirements,” the vice chairman said.

He added that the Sultanate has attractive nature and several tourism fundamentals. Thus, tourists have a good impression about tourism in Oman, but they always allude to lack of entertainment services.

“The tourism sector needs mechanisms and policies to create an attractive tourist climate, and efforts are exerted to develop the sector. Investors hope to see an imminent radical change in the sector and application of the initiatives introduced by the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification “Tanfeedh”,” Al Hafeez said.

The creation of an integrated tourist environment fulfilling the needs of

Al Hafeez said the sector needs large joint-stock companies based on a partnership between the public and private sectors, and the concerned authorities should plan and provide effective policies for the sector. In addition, the process of allocating land plots for tourism projects should be changed and included in integrated tourism schemes fulfilling the tourism requirements in a certain area. This will undoubtedly achieve a qualitative leap in several tourist locations.

tourists requires more facilities to encourage investments. However, the main obstacle facing the tourism sector currently is the complication of procedures. Investors may also face some legal problems because some government departments are not aware of the concept and requirements of the tourist facility.

The first step that should be taken to give the sector a push is the establishment of one shop stop for the completion of tourism project licenses under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism.

“We saw successful experiences at Duqm economic zone that created a one shop stop for the completion of investment procedures, which helped it achieve a tangible shift in the attraction of investments that included the Chinese city in Duqm,” the vice chairman said.

There are several problems facing the tourism projects such as Omanization and employees’ commitment to work.

This hurts investments because investors calculate costs, returns and the period needed to generate revenues before starting their projects. When investors find the procedures complicated, they disregard this project and look for another one having rapid returns.

This is one of the problems facing the tourism sector because several investors have good ideas but the climate is not encouraging for them. Thus, the Ministry of Tourism should play a major role in organizing the sector and ensuring the launch of integrated tourism projects.

The ministry is expected to boost the sector’s investments especially as the Sultanate considers this sector as the main pillar for sustainable growth.

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INTERVIEW

Al Khonji is optimistic about real estate market

New phase of offices to be launched in late March 2017

A

l Khonji Real Estate & Development (Aqar) has strengthened its foothold in the local real estate market as a premier real estate developer. The company’s business portfolio includes several projects in the field of establishing offices and integrated residential complexes such as “Rimal I”, “ Rimal II” and “The Office”. Aqar will soon launch the second phase of its successful office project. In addition, the developer is gearing up for new projects, as it signed a usufruct agreement for a tourism project at Duqm, which includes hotels, a park as well as residential and commercial complexes. In addition, the company’s plans include an integrated tourism project at Downtown Muscat.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khonji, chairman and chief executive of Aqar, said in an interview with “Aqar Oman” magazine that the current position of the real estate market after the fall in oil prices goes in line with the regular economic cycles. He added that the real estate is one of the sectors that managed to recover and survive the different crisis.

Al Khonji who has long expertise in the real estate market sees the current timing as a great opportunity for investors who have strong confidence in the market. He has long-term vision for carrying out new investments and purchasing land plots in distinguished locations. The chairman also stressed the need for the private sector’s initiative in carrying out investments and financing projects.

“Out of our long-term initiative and belief in its great importance, Aqar seized the opportunity of investing in one of the promising areas “Duqm” that offers lucrative facilities to the local and foreign private sector. We signed a usufruct agreement with the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm to construct a tourism project that includes hotels, a park as well as residential and commercial complexes,” Al Khonji said.

“What encouraged us to implement this project is that the area has several fundamentals of success such as the infrastructure represented in the port, airport, dry dock, roads and other

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Despite the state of clam prevailing in the market, Aqar paints a rosy outlook for the Omani real estate market

several projects. The authority also provides a set of facilities and excellent exemptions which encourage investors to invest in the area,” the chairman said.

He added that investors in the real estate and tourism sectors seek to utilize the advantages of Duqm such as the growing business sector, beauty of nature and mild climate year-round.

“We are committed to carrying out the project as scheduled under a usufruct agreement. We are building a tourist and real estate complex over 661,000 square meters in several stages at a cost of nearly OR 390 million. Upon completion, the project is expected to create 4,000 direct job

opportunities,” Al Khonji said.

He added that this important investment is considered a real added value to the tourism and business sectors at Duqm. The first stage includes the establishment of a threestar hotel that is expected to be opened in 2019. The project also includes the construction of a commercial complex and residential units that will be offered for sale to nationals and foreign investors. Thus, this will be the first Dqum project that will offer units for sale.

As Aqar continues to study and offer major opportunities, Al Khonji unveiled new projects, some of which will be announced soon and others are still under study. The company will launch the second phase of the office project that will be announced soon and offered for sale at the end of the first quarter of 2017.

The chairman confirmed that the office sector is still promising despite the state of calm prevailing in the market. He added that Aqar tended towards investing in the office sector after conducting a thorough study on the market, because the constant growth in the market and high turnout of international companies for investment in the Sultanate reflect the urgent need for these projects.

Aqar is carrying out «The Office», the first-of-its-kind project in Oman.

It consists of smart offices, showroom, business center, gym, restaurant and café, to be the beating heart in the system of companies and institutions in Oman. The project also has environment-friendly advantages and embodies the spirit of Omani heritage and culture.

The developer is also working on another project that includes the establishment of an integrated residential commercial tourism project on ​​ approximately 70,000 square meters in Downtown Muscat. The project includes a mall, residential units, offices and a hotel.

Aqar is cooperating with Oman Hotels and Tourism Co. for implementing the tourist business in the project. The company’s plans include studying the addition of entertainment components in this project to provide families with more options.

When asked about the reasons behind

his confidence in the real estate market, the chairman answered spontaneously and without hesitation: “Good and hard investment is always targeted by those looking for excellence. We are proud that the booking in our projects reaches 100%, and the success of our projects increases demand for them.”

Al Khonji added that Aqar is proceeding with its projects, plans and strategies, and is optimistic about the growth of the real estate market,

thanks to by the Omani young people who join the labor market annually.

This positive outlook is boosted by the government’s indicatives and strategic plans for economic growth. In addition, the entrepreneurship sector receives great support from the government and the private companies.

“We always urge investors to seize the opportunities that are beneficial to them and the national economy,” Al Khonji concluded.

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INTERVIEW

Wujha Real Estate Development

Living upto market needs

T

hroughout a short span of time, Wujha Real Estate Development succeeded in developing its status as a special developer in residential, commercial and luxury units either for investment or leasing. The company has a very good success record; thanks to its commitment, innovation and ability to understand and analyze market requirements.

The company projects that were on offer during the last period have achieved remarkable success due to their smart solutions, unique and diversified architectural designs and affordable rates that meet the needs of the different sectors of society.

Aqar Oman has this free-wheeling interview with Hazaa bin Salem Al Mardhouf Al Sa’adi, CEO of Wujha Real Estate Development.

He affirmed that his company is proud of contributing to the efforts made by the government to provide affordable housing for citizens at attractive rates.

The company targets the new generation of Omani youths who are more open to modern lifestyles and have special requirements in the houses they seek to live at.

Excerpts from the interview:

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How many units have you sold as of now?

By mid this year, we would have succeeded in marketing 200 residential units. We expand our projects as planned. We also plan to set up new projects ta vital sites that will provide investors with the opportunity to add value to Muscat.

The company’s portfolio includes a number of projects, the foremost of which is ‘ Al Muhra House’ in Al Amirat. After completing the project,

we have been keen on getting investors and buyers’ feedback about their experiences. We analyzed the feedback to benefit from the outcomes in the future projects and make them more appealing to buyers in terms of quality, facilities and value.

We then implemented ‘Dar Al Qamar’ project in Al Mawalih South, ‘Lubana’ in Al Maabela and then Al Irfan Jewel in Ghala Heights.

We have plan to launch ‘Durat Al

Irfan’ in Ghala in February 2017 in addition to ‘Rodina’ project in Al Amirat. We assist our buyers in getting the required finance from the banks and other financiers.

We target youths who seek to start their life at a residential unit that provide them with modern lifestyles at affordable rates. Many youths now prefer to start with a small flat and then move to a bigger house when they have bigger families and in a better position to finance building their own houses.

You have selected new areas such as Maabela and Amirat for your project. What are your criteria for selecting the project site?

We first ensure that the site is provided with high quality infrastructure such as roads and other basic services. We have also to bear in mind that Ghala for example is an extension for vital areas such as Khuwair and Ruwi. Al Maabela is also very unique and is witnessing a remarkable growth. The government has invested heavily in developing this area as it is easily accessible by Muscat residents and visitors from other governorates. Al Maabela has 8 access and exist points that make it easily accessible from all direction.

Moreover, the land prices are very attractive for individual buyers and investor as they help developer at the end of the project to offer their units at affordable rates.

What are the factors that made your company a unique one at the market?

Before we start any project, we analyze the market. Moreover, we are very keen on benefiting from the experience of others by introducing the requirements amendment to the successful models that succeeded at the similar markets to make it fit the Omani context. We also maintain communication with our customers to identify their needs and provide them with unique and unmatched

real estate experience either in terms of prices or rates.

At ‘ Wujha’ we provide an integrated lifestyle and we show interest in all details including the exterior and interior design; the utilization of the available space, the lighting and storing areas. In general, we focus on quality and avoid any overestimation of prices.

A good factor behind our success is the in-depth understanding of the market. For example, implementing a project for leasing is different from implementing a project for sale. In all, we target Omani youths who focus on quality. We thus do our best to provide our customer with high quality housing units that meet their needs and at the same time retain its value and are suitable for their budget.

Many complained of a sluggish growth in the real estate market.

How is your company performance in light of such circumstances?

We have to bear in mind that nothing remains the same forever and that change in market condition is very natural. Prices will go and down depending on many social and economic factors. In such condition, companies that provide high quality

units at affordable rates will not only remain in the market and will also grow. We have always been a trustworthy company; thanks to our commitment to the timelines for handing over the projects.

On the other hand, the real estate market is very dynamic and active therefore you need to study your market carefully and identify the preferences of your customers. You have to bear in mind that the unique and attractive facades help you a lot in marketing your projects. We are thus very keen to make every project a landmark and a valuable addition to our beloved capital ‘Muscat”. The building should also be functional and meet the needs of the residents.

Our success is also attributed to having good relations with all relevant stakeholders such as the Ministry of Housing, Muscat Municipality, Oman Real Estate Association and Royal Oman Police.

These organizations provided us with every possible support in out attempt to provide the Omani market with high quality residential and commercial units.

What are your future plan?

We week to become a leader in real estate market not only in Oman but also in the MENA region.

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INITIATIVE

Tanfeedh boost for real estate sector T anfeedh, a programme established in line with Oman’s Ninth Fiveyear Development Plan, proposes creation of a real estate investment fund in the Sultanate. Once established, the fund will help developers sell their property to the Fund, augmenting liquidity at the real estate market and allowing investors to display their property as assets.

According to the proposal, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) should publish regulations that allow for the establishment of the Fund.

Speaking at the Outlook Oman forum organised by MEED in December last, Abdullah al Salmi, Executive President of CMA revealed a plan to authorise the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) — a move that is set to meet a longstanding demand of real estate developers and investors in the Sultanate.

A Real Estate Investment Trust is defined as a security that sells like a stock on exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages.

REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.

Equity REITs invest in and own properties (thus responsible for the equity or value of their real estate assets). Their revenues come principally from their properties’ rents.

Since inception, Tanfeedh, which is the National

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Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification, came out with a number of initiatives to finance the projects and improve business environment for the real estate sector.

The programme aims to increase Oman’s GDP in three focus sectors from RO4.9 billion in 2015 to RO6.6 billion in 2020, to ensure that 80 per cent of suggested initiatives are financed by the private sector as opposed to full dependency on government, and to generate around 30,000 jobs for local

talents throughout implementation upon gaining all necessary permits.

It also underpinned the importance of ensuring maximum utilization public expenditure and improving business environment. The labs identified a number of aims that include maximizing the role played by the private sector in the financing of national initiatives and programs and improving business environment to help in attracting foreign investment.

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INITIATIVE

e-linking with brokerage firms

O

Salim Al-Balushi

man’s Ministry of Housing will activate the e-linking with real estate brokerage firms before the end of the first quarter of 2017.

The move allows the implementation of real estate transactions via an electronic system. The ministry will allow brokerage firms to sell, buy, swap and mortgage properties through unified electronic contracts, to facilitate real estate deals and issue title deeds through the real estate register at the ministry.

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In an interview with “Aqar Oman� magazine, Salim bin Hassan AlBalushi, assistant director-general for real estate development at the Ministry of Housing, said the new mechanism will be initially implemented in Muscat, and will be then implemented gradually in the other governorates. He expected the mechanism to be implemented in all governorates in less than one year.

Al-Balushi pointed out that the activation of the e-linking system with brokerage firms and individuals is considered a positive step towards activating the partnership between the ministry and private sector. In addition, the move aims to legally organize the brokerage business to unify the real estate registration procedures.

The official said a proposal is being studied for applying the system to the residential, commercial,

industrial, tourist and agricultural transactions as well as those related to apartments and multi-story buildings. The proposal states that the implementation of residential transactions is optional.

The system aims to improve the services of companies and offices through the e-payment of brokerage and transaction fees. As regards the transactions which the brokerage firms conclude and arrange between sellers and buyers, the companies will have the right to collect its legally-prescribed commissions.

As for the deals concluded directly between sellers and buyers, the prereal estate disposition procedures will be completed in a brokerage office to be selected by the two parties, and the legally-prescribed fees will be paid without charging a commission by the brokerage firm.

Al-Balushi said the electronic

systems applied by the Ministry of Housing contribute to organizing the sector, especially as the real estate brokerage that is not organized because of lack of regulations and a regulator.

This led to speculations by some unauthorized brokers, an unjustified rise in real estate prices as well as fraud and lack of credibility especially among foreign investors.

To maintain investor confidence in the real estate sector, the government activated the real estate brokerage regulations through establishing the Real Estate Development Directorate at the Ministry of Housing.

The directorate conducted a comprehensive study on the market to identify its needs and counted the number of brokerage companies to create a comprehensive database for the real estate brokerage activities.

Moreover, it developed a special electronic system to register the brokerage companies and grant them a license. The system will be launched soon.

Al-Balushi said the next period will witness more developments that will serve the real estate sector and promote its services and transparency, because the

electronic system will rate the real estate brokerage firms. Based on the rating, the companies will be divided into excellent, medium and small as per the number and size of transactions. In addition, the international firms will not be allowed to market foreign properties in the Sultanate except after obtaining a license in this regard. This aims to codify this activity and protect investors from fraud or fake transactions.

He added that a program is being developed to link the real estate development companies to the ministry, and set regulatory frameworks for the integrated housing projects, as well as helping developers complete the license procedures as fast as possible. This is carried out through the one stop shop at the Ministry of Housing.

Investors should submit their project plans to the ministry as per certain specifications set by the different concerned authorities. The one stop shop will conform the plans to these specifications and issue official letters which investors submit to some authorities such as the Municipality and Civil Defense to obtain the licenses.

A proposal is being studied for applying the system to the residential, commercial, industrial, tourist and agricultural transactions as well as those related to apartments and multi-story buildings.

The proposal states that the implementation of residential transactions is optional.

The advantages of the electronic system The system includes a comprehensive database used in the creation of a real estate price index for each area. The index will be published on the website of the Ministry of Housing to serve investors and those wishing to sell or buy.

The system allows rating real estate brokerage companies for the first time in the Sultanate. They will be divided into excellent, medium and small as per the number and size of transactions.

The international companies will not be allowed to market properties in the Sultanate except after obtaining a license.

A program is being developed for linking the real estate companies to the ministry. The move aims to develop legal and regulatory frameworks for the integrated housing projects, as well as helping developers to terminate the licenses quickly and easily.

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FOLLOW UP

E-brokerage licenses go online

A comprehensive manual in Arabic and English on the Ministry of Housing website

H

E Eng. Saif Bin Amer Al Shaqsi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Housing, approved an e-system for issuing licenses for doing real estate brokerage business from early next year through the Ministry’s website www.housing.gov.om.

The new system will allow real estate brokers and developers to practice the profession in an official manner.

The license will be issued by the Directorate-General of Real Estate Development. The move comes in a bid to regularise and legalise the real estate brokerage business.

According to the new system, which will be implemented in the Muscat

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Fahad bin Mohammed Macki

Governorate in the first phase, the real estate brokers presently registered with the ministry can pay the fees and get the license and also secure the real estate brokerage card for individuals through the ministry’s website. The individual real estate brokerage card will be also processed online.

The ministry hopes that approving the real estate brokerage system would ensure stability in the real estate market and help identify any rules violation in the field. It will also regularise the work of individual real estate brokers and real estate brokerage offices as well.

The initiative is expected to protect the real estate sector against speculations

that may lead to manipulation of prices that are not matching to the supply and demand in the real estate market.

Eng. Fahad bin Mohammed Macki, advisor of information technology at the directorate, said the electronic system was already adopted to register real estate brokers and brokerage firms.

He added that the ministry receives new applications for the professional licenses.

“A total of 171 offices and brokerage firms have been registered so far, and this number is expected to rise after the imminent application of the electronic system. A system was also adopted to pay the prescribed fees of registering

individuals and brokerage companies,” Macki said.

He added that training courses are organized for brokerage offices to show them how to use the system. They will also be provided with a comprehensive manual in Arabic and English on the ministry’s website.

Macki also said the system has several benefits such as saving time and organizing the brokerage profession.

It also encourages the Omani young people to join the brokerage profession and lead the companies licensed to operate in this sector.

In addition, the system has several important economic benefits such

as saving time and stopping the fake transactions.

He added that brokers will be committed to submitting a technical report on the property specifications to safeguard investor interests. The report will be based on a picture taken by the brokerage firm for the targeted property.

Thus, it will be possible to identify the real value of the property and real estate transactions in the local market. “The comprehensive database to be included in the electronic system will help create an index for average real estate prices in each governorate, and the averages will be published on the website of the Ministry of Housing,” Macki said.

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MARKET PULSE

Siham Al Harthy

Omani real estate market lures nationals The current strategy of Ministry of Housing focuses on encouraging the construction of integrated residential areas that are comfortable for residents and attractive for investors.

According to Siham Al Harthy, head of the General Directorate of Real Estate Development at the Ministry, this kind of projects gives citizens good options for housing and investment. While confirming that the ministry continues its efforts towards offering residential units to nationals through developing projects, she said there are regulations that encourage investment in the real estate sector.

Siham pointed out that the General Directorate of Real Estate Development aims to fulfill investor needs, as it is currently developing a strategic plan for the construction of integrated urban communities that include high-end units meeting the international standards at reasonable prices.

“The directorate gives priority to the facilitation of the procedures of investors who are interested in quality and excellence�, she added.

Through their participation in the different events, the real estate companies and developers said the decline in real estate prices is a good investment opportunity for nationals, Siham said.

According to her there are opportunities that enable nationals to own distinguished residential units located in a region having all facilities.

After the slowdown witnessed by the market in summer, we noticed a relative recovery at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2016

Tony Safarian

Tony Safarian, general manager of Telal Al Qurm Real Estate Co., said people are interested in the opportunities available in the market, and this encourages them to attend the marketing exhibitions. “After the slowdown witnessed by the market

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in summer, we noticed a relative recovery at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2016. This recovery is boosted by individual buyers rather than investors�, she said.

Safarian revealed that several companies adapted themselves to the current conditions, and mapped out their plans for 2017 in light of the current developments. He added that the Omani market recovers fast after crises, and is expected to continue its growth due to strong demand.

To safeguard the local real estate market, the central bank set conditions for the mortgage loans, to ensure the quality of mortgage lending at the domestic banks and protect nationals from the default risks if they are not able to pay off the loan.

The general manager also said the market focuses on the projects targeting low-income citizens, and developers should establish projects fulfilling their needs.

Real estate became one of the most important economic sectors such as commerce, tourism and industry

Abdulrahman Barham

Abdulrahman Barham, chief executive of Al-Madina Real Estate Co., said supply exceeds demand in the current period due to lack of organization in the real estate market, which could reverse the situation in the future and weigh on the volume of real estate investments. “To overcome these potential challenges, the sector needs more planning, especially as we know that a large number of the Omani young people need housing. Real estate became one of the most important economic sectors such as commerce, tourism

and industry,� Barham said.

He added that the government should encourage investments and avoid the imposition of new fees on the private sector to fulfill the needs of the current conditions.

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Market outlook

Cluttons: Hospitality to lead growth in real estate sector

W

ith continued stagnation across Oman’s residential and office property market during the third quarter of 2016, rapid expansion in the hospitality sector is set to be a beacon of growth in the market heading into 2017, according to international real estate consultants Cluttons.

The Cluttons Winter 2016/17 Property Market Outlook report for Muscat says significant growth in the Oman›s tourism sector is feeding a period of exponential development in the four- and five-star hotel market.

Over the nex­t two years, Cluttons says, hotels currently under construction will deliver a 50 per cent increase in room supply to the premium segment of the market.

Philip Paul, head of Cluttons Oman, said, “While the local residential and office markets are feeling the burden of economic challenges, Muscat remains

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a highly attractive tourist destination within the Gulf and investors have taken note.”

The significant increase in supply we are anticipating will result in a more competitive market from an operator perspective but will also provide an increase in choice for customers, he said.

Paul noted that while there are significant opportunities within the hospitality sector, the outlook is less positive for the residential and office markets with a number of factors impacting performance. “The volatility caused by low oil prices has had a knock on effect on the number of professionals working in the sultanate; but redundancies have now spread well beyond the oil sector. This in turn has heavily impacted the demand for real estate.”

In the residential market, Cluttons

estimates that average rental rates fell by a further 2.3 per cent during third quarter of 2016, bringing the total decline for 2016 to 8.1 per cent. On an annual basis, the weakest performing residential sub-market was Shatti al Qurm, where rents fell 21.1 per cent, followed by Sur al Hadid (20.8 per cent decline) and Qurm (17.9 per cent decline).

On a more positive note, Cluttons said, during the third quarter rents remained unchanged in two sub-markets, Bausher and Sur al Hadid. Al Mouj remains a residential stronghold with rents down just 5.9 per cent over the last 12 months, standing at an average of RO 800 per month.

Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, noted the prospects for an immediate turn around in the residential market remain unlikely, and given the country’s heavy reliance on the oil &

gas sector, outlook for the residential market remains weak.

He said, “During spring we forecast residential rents to end the year ten per cent to 15 per cent down overall and it appears we are on track to achieve that, reflecting the average decline in tenants’ budgets of ten per cent to 20 per cent that we have recorded this year.”

“More positively, the government is clearly working hard behind the scenes to drive more efficient spending, while at the same time undertaking sentiment boosting mega projects such as the recent tendering for the first phase of Oman Rail and the progression of works related to the $1.3bn redevelopment of Mina Sultan Qaboos. Projects such as these bode well for future demand for residential property, but for now, the outlook remains subdued,» Durrani added.

Cluttons reports no quarterly change in office rents across the six submarkets monitored during third quarter.

On an annual basis, Qurm and Shatti al Qurm stand out as relatively stable markets with no change in rents over the last 12 months.

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FOLLOW UP

19 winners at ORA Awards 2016 The tough competition mirrors our commitment to develop the real estate sector, says ORA chairman A remarkable growth in the number of candidates, comments the judging panel

O

man Real Estate Association (ORA) celebrated presentation of the second edition of Oman Real Estate Awards 2016 under the auspices of HH Sayyid Taimour bin Asaad bin Tareq al Said.

The presentation ceremony was held during a glittering function held at Grand Millennium Hotel, Muscat.

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The 2nd version of the awards consists of 17 categories.

The developers’ category awards are divided to six different awards, which are Best Real Estate Developer of the Year at the Commercial Level Award (winner is Majan Construction for Al Muzn project) , Best Developer of the Year at the Residential Level Award (winner is Qurm Hills Project), Best Developer of the Year at the Level of Retail Units Award (AL Mouj for

Al Marsa project), Best Project for Multiple Use Award (winner is Public Authority for Social Insurance for the Insurance Complex, Outstanding Project Representing a Milestone Award (winner is Al Reef for Salalah Gardens, and the Best Company of the Year in the Field of Architecture, Design and Planning Award (winner is IDEC).

Secondly, at real estate management and real estate brokerage category, it

is divided to two awards, which are the Best Real Estate Management of the Year Award (winner is Al Reef for Salalah Gardens) and the Best Real Estate Broker of the Year Award (winner is Desert Axis).

Thirdly, special nature awards category is divided to five awards, which are the Best Financing Company for Housing Units of the Year Award ( winner is Al Izz Islamic Bank, Best Real Estate Website of the

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FOLLOW UP

Year Award (Real Estate Souq) , the Best Real Estate Marketing Company of the Year Award (winner Al Mouj) , the Best Residential Project Facilitator of the Year Award ( winner Argan & Towell Oman for Oasis Complex , and the Best Small and Medium Real Estate Company of the Year Award ( winners are International Brokers, Winning Horse ad Amerat Gate’.

Fourth, individual awards category, and it is divided to two awards, which are the Best Executive Director in Real Estate Sector of the Year Award (winner is Suleiman Masud Al Harthi), and the Best Woman working in the Real Estate Sector of the Year Award (winner is Eng. Khadijah Al Kayoumiyah).

Fifth, government awards category, and it is divided to two awards: Outstanding Contribution to the

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Real Estate Sector Award (winner is the Directorate General for Real Estate Development represented by the Ministry of Housing, and the Best Government Real Estate Project Award (winner is the National Museum project).

While delivering the keynote speech, Eng. Mohammed Al Busaidi, Chairman of ORA said, “ORA agenda this year has been full of events and activities and that this day culminates the great efforts done throughout the year to promote the Omani real estate sector”. He affirmed that the sector plays an important role in the Omani economy either in terms of contribution to GDP and the number of jobs it creates. Moreover, it is one of the prioritized sectors at the 9th five-year plan to ensure diversification of economy. The growth of the sector

requires the collaboration of all efforts therefore ORA plays an important role to orchestrate the relationship among various stakeholders.

While the first version of the awards was launched last year, the awards will be distributed annually. Next year, ORA will enhance its participation at the different events held inside and outside the Sultanate. There is also special training and rehabilitating of Omanis working in the real estate companies in real estate related fields.

“The number of participants this year has shown a remarkable growth by individuals and establishments.

I would like her to commend the decision made by board members to exclude their companies from competition for the second successive year to ensure more transparency. We are also very proud to have this year

MAF & Partners as a co-organizer of this event�, Eng. Mohammed said.

Remarkable growth The participation this year grew by 16% compared to last year as many participated for the first time in the different categories, said Hassan Juma Al Lawati, member of the judging panel. “The applications were initially assessed by the judging penal from KPMG Auditing to ensure that they meet requirements and standards for nomination for such prestigious awards�, he added.

It should be noted the MAF & Partners, the co-organizer of Oman Real Estate Awards 2016, has been involved in the registration process for the five categories of the awards which were launched 31st October 2016.

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