|
Given the right focus,
real estate in Oman has a positive near & mid future. Experts at seminar
concur
 Muscat:
The recently-concluded seminar on ‘Global crisis and its impact on the
real estate sector,’ organized by Iskan Oman Investment Company and
supported by Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, brought together
many experts from the GCC and other parts of the world to shed new light
on what is perhaps the most complex and destabilizing crisis the world
has seen in generations, and its adverse impact on the real estate
sector in the country.
According to Dr Manoj Pant, Professor, Centre for International Trade &
Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, fiscal measures would
be more important than monetary measures. “Governments across the globe
need to propel demand by increasing investments substantially, be it in
infrastructure, healthcare or a host of other areas, that can lead to
demand,” he said.
According to him, the United States had a huge share in the global
demand of almost 30 per cent, and when demand there contracted, many
countries saw a downturn. Demographics would remain key criteria for
demand generations in the future.
Paul Arnold, Director, Business Advisory Solutions – Real Estate,
Hospitality & Leisure, Ernst & Young, said that Oman has opportunities,
but one has to look at the right ones.
According to Arnold, the luxury segment maybe not be a right opportunity
for Oman during the current situation. He said “We need to look at
affordability and value. We need to look at affordable housing - that is
where the demand is and that is where there is also a shortage of
supply”.
K Gopakumar, General Manager, Wholesale Banking, BankMuscat said that
there were several positives for the real estate sector. “The population
is growing significantly and the per capita income is also going up”.
In an earlier statement, the OCCI Chairman,H.E. Khalil Bin Abdullah Al
Khonji , had said the Omani real Estate sector is well protected from
the ill effect of the global financial crisis compared to the other
markets in the region, and there has been no major adverse impact on the
industry so far. He had added that the impact has been less because of
the very strong regulations in place in Oman.
Mansoor Jamal Malik, Managing Partner, Al Busaidy Mansoor Jamal & Co,
spoke on the regulatory framework in Oman for real estate. According to
him, Oman offered both transparency and security. The laws which may
undergo revision and/or reenactment may, inter alia, include The Law of
the Lands (Royal Decree 2/98), Government Lands Entitlement Regulations,
Land Usufruct Law (Royal Decree 5/81), 1981, Apartments and Floors
Ownership Regulations, Real Estate Sector Brokerage Law, Laws and
decisions concerning granting lands and social housing and soft loans to
low income citizens of Oman. He also mooted the possibility of a review
of policy pertaining to ownership of property in Integrated Tourism
Complex, and key legislations in other sectors that may have an impact
on development of real estate.
The event was conducted under the banner of Oman Investment Forum; Iskan
Oman plans to host events in future addressing vital issues that concern
the Oman economy, the regional landscape and the personal holdings of
individual investors.
Top
Seminar on ‘Global Crisis and
its impact on Real Estate in Oman’
The seminar on “Global Crisis and its impact on Real Estate in Oman” was
held on February 28th at the Grand Hyatt, Muscat.
H.E. Khalil Abdullah Mohammed Al Khonji, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of
Commerce & Industry was the Chief Guest, and Mr. Adil Mohammed Al-Bader.
Chairman of Iskan Oman, the Guest of Honor.
In his welcome address, Dr. Rashid Ali Al-Balushi, Managing Director of
Iskan Oman Investment Company, said “This seminar is designed to bring
together some of the leading economists and industry experts, to inform
and educate the Omani society about the challenges facing the real
estate sector, analyze the reasons, and provide guidance and
recommendations”.
In his introductory speech to the seminar, the Iskan Oman Chairman said
the forum was an important and timely initiative by the Company to bring
together Corporate Oman to understand the crisis and its impact.
The first plenary session was addressed by Dr. Manoj Pant, Professor,
Center for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, India. In his presentation, Dr Pant outlined the meaning and
types of financial crises, causes of the current financial crisis,
impact of the financial crisis and the action plan, and regulatory
responses to the financial crisis.
He summed up his presentation with a review of the impact of the
financial crisis on the GCC & Oman economies, and the net take-away from
the crisis.
Mr Mohd Dahmash, Partner & Middle East Leader of Ernst and Young’s Real
Estate Transaction and Advisory Services Group in the Middle East, made
a detailed presentation on the Real Estate Industry.
Starting with an macroeconomic overview and stocktaking of the current
scenario, his presentation covered the impact of the financial crisis on
the real estate industry in GCC & Oman, including an outline of key
challenges faced due the financial crisis, specifically the challenges
in the real estate market in Oman. He addressed issues relating to
sources of consumer finance, and summed up with his views on the future
perspective of the real estate market in Oman.
The session on commercial banks’ responses to the financial crisis, and
their view on real estate market in Oman, was addressed by Mr. K.
Gopakumar, General Manager,Wholesale Banking, Bank Muscat (SAOG), Oman.
He dwelt on the impact of the financial crisis on the banking industry
in Oman, and the challenges in the funding of real estate projects.
Taking the audience through a statistical abstract on the history and
number of commercial banks, and their market capitalization, he
highlighted aspects relating to the source of income for commercial
banks in Oman in particular, their lending policies and practices before
and after the crisis, and the impact of the crisis on commercial banks.
Mr Gopakumar’s concluding remarks dwelt on ways for commercial banks to
reduce risk exposure, in the light of their responsibility toward
business and the community.
Mr. Mansoor Jamal Malik, Managing Partner, Al Busiady Mansoor Jamal &
Co., Oman, who spoke next, focused on the Regulatory framework in Oman
for real estate, and the Oman Regulatory system response to the
financial crisis.
He also spoke of the need for regulation of mortgage finance companies,
the Islamic Finance concept of lease to own, and real estate laws in
Oman governing companies in the business of apartment selling.
A panel discussion followed, with Mr. Rajeev Singh, Partner, Ernst &
Young Muscat, as the moderator. Mr. Bruce Palmer, Managing Partner,
Curtis Oman, Mr. Lo’ai Bataineh, Head of Investment Management at Oman
Arab Bank, and Mr. Saleh Al Habsi, Director, Ministry of Defense Pension
Fund, participated.
The seminar officially concluded with a summary of the proceedings of
the day by Dr. Rashid Ali Al-Balushi, Managing Director of Iskan Oman
Investment Company, and a vote of thanks to the participants and guests.
The networking session provided delegates to have personal discussions
with the speakers and panel members, and senior officials from the Oman
Chamber of Commerce & Iskan Oman.
Top
Given the right focus, real estate
in Oman has a positive near & mid future, concur experts
Muscat: The recently-concluded seminar on ‘Global crisis and its impact
on the real estate sector,’ organized by Iskan Oman Investment Company
and supported by Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, brought together
many experts from the GCC and other parts of the world to shed new light
on what is perhaps the most complex and destabilizing crisis the world
has seen in generations, and its adverse impact on the real estate
sector in the country.
According to Dr Manoj Pant, Professor, Centre for International Trade &
Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, fiscal measures would
be more important than monetary measures. “Governments across the globe
need to propel demand by increasing investments substantially, be it in
infrastructure, healthcare or a host of other areas, that can lead to
demand,” he said.
According to him, the United States had a huge share in the global
demand of almost 30 per cent, and when demand there contracted, many
countries saw a downturn. Demographics would remain key criteria for
demand generations in the future.
Paul Arnold, Director, Business Advisory Solutions – Real Estate,
Hospitality & Leisure, Ernst & Young, said that Oman has opportunities,
but one has to look at the right ones.
According to Arnold, the luxury segment maybe not be a right opportunity
for Oman during the current situation. He said “We need to look at
affordability and value. We need to look at affordable housing - that is
where the demand is and that is where there is also a shortage of
supply”.
K Gopakumar, General Manager, Wholesale Banking, BankMuscat said that
there were several positives for the real estate sector. “The population
is growing significantly and the per capita income is also going up”.
In an earlier statement, the OCCI Chairman,H.E. Khalil Bin Abdullah Al
Khonji , had said the Omani real Estate sector is well protected from
the ill effect of the global financial crisis compared to the other
markets in the region, and there has been no major adverse impact on the
industry so far. He had added that the impact has been less because of
the very strong regulations in place in Oman.
Mansoor Jamal Malik, Managing Partner, Al Busaidy Mansoor Jamal & Co,
spoke on the regulatory framework in Oman for real estate. According to
him, Oman offered both transparency and security. The laws which may
undergo revision and/or reenactment may, inter alia, include The Law of
the Lands (Royal Decree 2/98), Government Lands Entitlement Regulations,
Land Usufruct Law (Royal Decree 5/81), 1981, Apartments and Floors
Ownership Regulations, Real Estate Sector Brokerage Law, Laws and
decisions concerning granting lands and social housing and soft loans to
low income citizens of Oman. He also mooted the possibility of a review
of policy pertaining to ownership of property in Integrated Tourism
Complex, and key legislations in other sectors that may have an impact
on development of real estate.
The event was conducted under the banner of Oman Investment Forum; Iskan
Oman plans to host events in future addressing vital issues that concern
the Oman economy, the regional landscape and the personal holdings of
individual investors.
Top
Azzan Bin Qais Private School
– cultivating a healthy mind in a healthy body
 Muscat: There is a saying in Latin, “mens sana in corpore sano” meaning
“a healthy mind in a healthy body.”
Supported by The Al Omania Education Services Company LLC (ISKAN
Knowledge),
Azzan Bin Qais Private School (ABQ) is truly an example of
education with a difference. The management’s ethos has always been to
nurture a caring environment that fosters educational excellence in
every student, which enhances their physical, social and cultural
awareness, providing them ample space to bloom to their maximum
potential.
ABQ has two decades of track record in providing quality education,
ensured by its high quality international faculty which gives
individualized attention to every student, right from the KG stage to
Grade 12.
Every student is given unparalleled personal attention by each of the
international faculty members who are talented and experienced persons
drawn from the UK, USA, Europe, Asia and Oman.
Co-curricular activities focus on personality development, moral
strength and confidence building in each student. Mountain trekking,
rock climbing, international and regional student exchange programs and
field trips contribute much to the personal development of the students.
State-of-art facilities include an Olympic size swimming pool,
additional individual science labs and additional classrooms, so that
the student grows up in an atmosphere of excellence.
Presently, ABQ offers 3 academic streams. The international curriculum
for IGCSE exams in grade 10, and A level in grade 12 leads to
International Secondary Diplomas. A bi-lingual stream leading to the
MOE’s General Certificate in grade 12 includes Maths & Science being
taught in English. The mono lingual stream based on the MOE’s Arabic
syllabus includes Advanced English Language.
ISKAN Knowledge has a vision for ABQ - to achieve a place of pride as a
hallmark of excellence in education in the Sultanate of Oman.
Top
|
