Omani and Egyptian investors are pouring $265 million into a new economic zone in Muscat to draw startups working on AI.
Egyptian conglomerate Prime Group has partnered with Omani real estate developer Afouq to invest in the 100,000 square-meter zone on the sultanate’s coast, with the government’s Ministry of Transport, Communications, and IT acting as an adviser.
While the new district represents a small fraction of the billions being invested by neighboring Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it is part of broader efforts by Oman to overcome a decade-long budget deficit and accelerate its economic diversification push: Its sovereign wealth fund last week launched a $5.2 billion lending program to make more capital available for startups.