Oman is taking its equity stakes elsewhere besides oil as its sovereign wealth fund seeks to diversify the government's income.
Oil
The Sultanate of Oman, , is the largest Arab oil producer that is not a member of OPEC and set up the Oman Investment Fund in 2006 to preserve and expand the country's wealth.
The Fund is looking into taking equity stakes in logistics, shipping and tourism, as well as companies abroad that are outside of the oil industry, Chief Economist Fabio Scacciavillani was reported as saying.
It manages around $6 billion (£3.8 billion), according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute and this year bought a 40 per cent stake in Italian automotive plastics supplier Sigit, which could benefit from the establishment of an Oman manufacturing site, where it would have access to the chemical feedstock used in plastics and have easy access to ports for shipping, while creating a wealth of new jobs.
Oman's economic growth slowed in 2014, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, after oil tumbled by almost 50 per cent, slashing state income.