Oman to impose personal income tax on its high earners by 2028
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has approved a personal income tax law to be implemented on individuals earning more than $110,000 annually.
The measure, which will be imposed starting in 2028, positions Oman as the first Gulf state to levy personal income tax, part of broader efforts to diversify revenue away from oil.
An earlier draft proposing separate thresholds for Omanis and expatriates was rejected by the Sultan.
With 2.7 million workers – 1.8 million expatriates – the reform is projected to raise over $285 million annually.
Google injects $6 billion into UAE’s economy with AI push
The UAE’s expanding ties with Silicon Valley are paying dividends for the economy amid new joint investments in artificial intelligence.
Among the major contributors to the Gulf state’s economic growth last year was Google, whose products contributed $6 billion to GDP, according to a report released today by Public First, a London-based consulting firm.
The search company’s tools, particularly in advertising, mapping and through its YouTube and Gemini AI units, fueled growth in business and individual productivity, said the economic impact report, which was commissioned by Google.
“The report reflects our investment in accelerating the country’s ambitious journey towards a diversified, AI-powered economy,” Anthony Nakache, Google’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the report’s introduction.
In the UAE, 63% of adults surveyed said they had used Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, and 90% of those users said it improved their productivity. More than two-thirds said Gemini was easier to use in Arabic than other AI chatbots.
The UAE plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to establish itself as a world leader in AI infrastructure, establishing partnerships through its G42 tech firm and MGX investment fund with firms including Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAi and Oracle.
Oman launches smart cities to boost net-zero, diversify economy
Oman has launched two smart city projects as part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions and diversify its economy.
The first city, for 10,000 residents, will be built in the mountain region of Jebel Akhdar, while the second, Thuraya City in Muscat, will house 8,000 people, Arabian Gulf Business Insights reports.
Both cities will rely on renewable energy, including solar power, and will be used to promote Oman’s carbon-free environment plans, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning said.
The announcement comes a week after the Sultanate launched the Oman Centre for Net Zero. Like other Gulf countries, Oman has been ramping up investment in green infrastructure to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas.
The push for smart cities also reflects the country’s commitment to attracting foreign investment and creating livable, future-ready urban environments.
Egypt starts to rebound after IMF bailout, ADQ resort investment
Egypt’s economy is growing at a pace it hasn’t seen since 2022 following last year’s IMF bailout and a massive investment from the UAE.
GDP grew 4.3% year-on-year in the last three months of 2024, which the government attributed largely to the IMF’s $8 billion loan package and Abu Dhabi-owned ADQ’s $35 billion Ras El-Hekma resort project.
Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation pointed to tourism, trade-related transportation and non-oil manufacturing as the key drivers of economic expansion.
Private investment increased 35.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, while public investment contracted 25.7%. Tourism grew by 18% in the fourth quarter, with total visitors rising to 4.41 million
Still, the Egyptian economy suffered some major setbacks, including a 70% decline in revenue from the Suez Canal because of “ongoing geopolitical tensions” and a 7.5% drop in income from oil production.
Saudi Arabia sees investment surge from China, according to Emirates NBD
China is emerging as Saudi Arabia’s most active foreign investor amid a flood of new projects aimed at turbocharging non-oil economic growth in the kingdom. The world’s second-largest economy accounted for 58% of new business investments — primarily focused on automotive, metals and semiconductor investments — in Saudi Arabia in 2023, with $16.8 billion invested. That figure is up more than tenfold from $1.5 billion the previous year, according to new data from Dubai-based Emirates NBD.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is still trailing its target of attracting $100 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2030 as de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks to boost non-oil GDP and diversify the economy. But 2023 showed signs of progress: foreign investment into new business in Saudi Arabia more than doubled to $28.8 billion last year, according to Emirates NBD, surpassing the 2018 peak of $17.6 billion but shy of the 2008 record of $34.3 billion.
The influx in foreign capital comes as Gulf economies are increasingly turning East to China and India, one of the fastest growing economies, for opportunity. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been invited to join the BRICS economic alliance, which analysts have predicted will increase China’s power and influence in the MENA region. Still, the U.S. was runner-up: pouring $2.7 billion into Saudi Arabia, mostly in software and IT, and a 238% increase over the previous year. The UAE came in third, its investments primarily focused on renewable energy.
This week the kingdom’s Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah, visited Beijing, where he signed a flurry of agreements with his Chinese counterpart to boost collaboration. Museums, cultural heritage, theater, architecture and libraries are all on the table for greater exchange. “With the support of the leadership of the two friendly countries, Saudi-Chinese cultural cooperation begins a new chapter,” Prince Badr said on X.
