Business leaders in Oman feel more confident now that the on-going initiatives adopted by the government under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said will steer the nation towards continued excellence.

Echoing full confidence about the bright future of Oman, Anvwar Al Balushi, Group CEO of Majan Consolidated Company, passionately asserts that the need of the hour is for everyone to cooperate.

“The recent meetings convened by the ministry and the Chamber of Commerce have been very encouraging,” he says. “We are all impressed with their efforts at developing a healthy and transparent economic atmosphere.”

“I believe prioritising the promotion and development of home grown companies will pave the way for a well sustained economy. Today, though we all are fully geared up to move forward, most industries and businesses suffer critical problems, which make even the daily survival nearly impossible.”

“For example, take the case of the steel industry, where our group has been operating a steel rolling mill for the past eight years. The market is engulfed by steel from another country that gets into Oman via Dubai by paying five per cent customs duty. It is believed that some of the traders, in order to evade customs duty, introduce the finished deformed steel in Oman while claiming it as raw material for cutting and bending purpose, and the same is selling in the market.”

He adds: “In the present situation, as a local manufacturer, we have no cost or price leverage to continue in this business profitably, while customers buy the cheaply available imported steel.

“Such unhealthy practices that aim to tap the market unfairly will force the local businesses to close down.”

However, Anvwar places his full trust in the determination of the government that has taken well-measured steps to clean up the system and hopes that such malpractices, which exist across all sectors, will be properly addressed.

Anvwar is more worried, than excited, when asked about the ambitious growth plans his company embarked upon last year.

“We approached the Rusayl Industrial Estate (RIE) with our plans for expansion of our steel mill. RIE approved our plans and allocated land for us. Till date, we have invested approximately $12-15 million. Now, when our project is nearing completion, we are being denied the natural gas to operate our plant.

“We approached the ministries concerned but they took a categorical stand that they had not assured natural gas for our project, which is true, from their point of view.

But my company is the victim. It is on the verge of incurring huge losses for absolutely no mistake of ours,” he points out.

“Similar problems are faced by other businesses across industries and our voices need to be heard too,” Anvwar says.

However, he asks everybody concerned to give the authorities enough time to sort out the problems. “So many positive changes have come about in such a short time. We should be patient for more changes. We see a lot of transparency coming in and that is a welcome sign,” he notes.

His company may be facing such stiff business challenges, but Anvwar is sure that Oman is moving ahead towards a bright future under the canopy of His Majesty.