Oman Investment Authority Signs 23 Strategic Agreements in Beijing
Multi-billion-dollar partnerships across clean energy, copper refining, orbital satellites, and port logistics anchor the next phase of Oman-China economic cooperation
During His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s state visit to the People’s Republic of China, economic diplomacy moved rapidly from sovereign frameworks into industrial execution. At the Oman-China Investment Partnership Forum in Beijing, attended by His Majesty the Sultan and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the Oman Investment Authority and its subsidiary companies signed 23 strategic investment agreements and memorandums of understanding worth several billion US dollars.
These commercial pacts build upon a broader bilateral foundation established during the state visit, which included a local-currency swap agreement between the Central Bank of Oman and the People’s Bank of China, 14 government-to-government memorandums covering the digital economy, Beidou satellite navigation, desert rehabilitation, and industrial supply chains, and a phytosanitary protocol opening Chinese markets to Omani dried dates. With bilateral trade reaching approximately RO 6.9 billion in 2025—comprising RO 5.1 billion in Omani exports and RO 1.8 billion in imports—China already accounts for 23.8 percent of Oman’s total global trade. The Beijing agreements shift that relationship toward joint manufacturing, grid resilience, and domestic technology production inside the Sultanate.
Sovereign Co-Investment Funds Target Industrial Localization
A central pillar of the Beijing package involves multi-hundred-million-dollar joint investment funds designed to bring Chinese industrial enterprises into Omani special economic zones and free zones. Abdulsalam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi, President of the Oman Investment Authority, noted that the agreements strengthen strategic relationships with the world’s second-largest economy while transferring specialized technical expertise directly into Oman Vision 2040 priority sectors.
The Oman Investment Authority signed an agreement with China Merchants Bank and China International Capital Corporation to establish a second joint investment fund capitalized at RO 38.45 million (USD 100 million), alongside a partnership with China Merchants Port to expand container and bulk operations in Omani ports and build a solar module manufacturing plant in the Sultanate. A second joint fund with the Silk Road Fund commits RO 115.35 million (USD 300 million) toward Omani and international technology ventures, while a partnership with IDG Capital allocates RO 76.9 million (USD 200 million) to localize advanced manufacturing and clean energy industries in Oman.
Additional capital commitments include a primary energy-transition fund with Templewater valued at RO 76.9 million (USD 200 million)—rising to RO 99.97 million (USD 260 million) alongside an innovation sub-fund backed by the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission—and a joint fund with Rayliant Global Advisors totaling RO 105.74 million (USD 275 million) in partnership with Wuhan Optical Valley and Sequoia China.
Grid-Scale Battery Storage and Copper Value Chains
Beyond financial capital, the agreements address critical infrastructure bottlenecks in renewable power integration and mineral processing. Nama Power and Water Procurement signed two landmark agreements with State Grid International Development Limited to construct two utility-scale battery energy storage systems connected to Oman’s 400-kilovolt main interconnected grid. Positioned at the Duqm Industrial Station and the Ibri Solar 2 Station, each facility will deliver 500 megawatts of storage capacity, providing a combined 1,000 megawatts of grid stability to absorb daytime solar generation and reduce natural gas consumption during peak evening demand.
In the mining sector, Minerals Development Oman partnered with Wuhan Engineering Company to build and operate a flexible copper and gold concentrator valued at RO 61 million (USD 158.7 million) over a 10-year period. Engineered to process complex sulfur ores and historical copper tailings across Omani concessions, the plant will raise domestic recovery rates and turn dormant mineral waste into export-grade concentrates.
Orbital Satellites, Supercomputing, and Regional Logistics
The Beijing forum also accelerated Oman’s entry into commercial space systems and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Oman Lens signed a five-year strategic partnership with Beijing Star Vision Aerospace to launch 30 Omani artificial-intelligence-enabled satellites under the “Silk Road Space” program, paired with establishing a satellite assembly, integration, and testing center inside the Sultanate. In parallel, Omantel, WBS, Huawei, and Tsinghua University agreed to deploy high-density artificial intelligence supercomputing pods in Oman while funding 30 master’s and doctoral scholarships for Omani researchers over the next five years.
On the logistics front, Asyad Group partnered with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to establish three smart distribution warehouses across the Muscat Airport Free Zone, Khazaen Economic City, and the Sohar Freezone, positioning Omani ports and airports as rapid fulfillment hubs for the Gulf, East Africa, and South Asia.
