US asset management firm State Street and Saudi Arabia’s Jadwa Investment agreed to jointly expand their offerings in Oman, as Muscat looks to further develop its capital markets and attract foreign firms.
State Street, which manages $5.6 trillion globally, has made the Gulf a key growth focus, opening a regional headquarters in Riyadh last year and working with the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund to launch exchange-traded funds designed to attract more foreign capital into Saudi markets. It is also hiring 300 people for an operating center in Al Ain, in the UAE.
For Muscat, the deal is the latest sign of its growing financial ambitions. It established the Oman International Financial Centre in January, based on English common law, in a bid to attract more foreign companies. The country, which has managed to significantly improve its public finances and credit rating in recent years, is also reaping a windfall during the Iran war, as its coastline lies outside the Strait of the Hormuz, enabling it to keep exporting crude and importing goods for onward transit to its neighbors.