PHOTO
25 September 2016
Muscat: Oman's finance ministry has started transferring its stakes in partly state-owned companies to sovereign funds or government owned firms in an apparent move to enhance operational efficiency.
Of late, the shareholding of the ministry in three semi-government listed companies - Salalah Port Services, Port Services Corporation and Oman and Emirates Holding - have been transferred to two state-owned entities. While the first company's stake was transferred to Oman Logistics Group, the stake of two other companies were transferred to Oman Investment Fund.
Oman government has 20.1 per cent ownership in Salalah Port Services, while the state ownership in Port Services Corporation and Oman and Emirates Investment Holding are 35.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.
According to a Reuters report, the transfer of stakes from government ministry was aimed at making their operations more efficient and also to improve the management of companies.
The Oman government in 2014 said that it plans to restructure the ownership pattern of 65 state-owned companies into four or five holding companies for enhancing administrative efficiency and strengthening controls.
The idea is to form one holding company for all state-owned firms in a particular sector, which is more or less in line with the merger of Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, Aromatics Oman and Oman Polypropylene to form Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic). The idea is to create four or five holding companies to own the state-owned companies in each sector. This will also help disinvestment of select firms, a goal the government is actively pursuing for several years.
Muscat: Oman's finance ministry has started transferring its stakes in partly state-owned companies to sovereign funds or government owned firms in an apparent move to enhance operational efficiency.
Of late, the shareholding of the ministry in three semi-government listed companies - Salalah Port Services, Port Services Corporation and Oman and Emirates Holding - have been transferred to two state-owned entities. While the first company's stake was transferred to Oman Logistics Group, the stake of two other companies were transferred to Oman Investment Fund.
Oman government has 20.1 per cent ownership in Salalah Port Services, while the state ownership in Port Services Corporation and Oman and Emirates Investment Holding are 35.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.
According to a Reuters report, the transfer of stakes from government ministry was aimed at making their operations more efficient and also to improve the management of companies.
The Oman government in 2014 said that it plans to restructure the ownership pattern of 65 state-owned companies into four or five holding companies for enhancing administrative efficiency and strengthening controls.
The idea is to form one holding company for all state-owned firms in a particular sector, which is more or less in line with the merger of Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, Aromatics Oman and Oman Polypropylene to form Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic). The idea is to create four or five holding companies to own the state-owned companies in each sector. This will also help disinvestment of select firms, a goal the government is actively pursuing for several years.
© Times of Oman 2016
