The country has witnessed an increase in new registrations of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a sign of recovery from the pandemic.
The number of new listings at Riyada, the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development, amounted to 53,166 at the end of May 2021 compared to 44,197 at the end of May 2020.
The most recent data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) confirms that the Governorate of Muscat has seen a 20.3 percent increase in new registration while five other Governorates in Oman recorded an increase of over 20 percent.
The highest increase was recorded in the Governorate of Al-Wusta with 39 percent, followed by South Al Sharqiyah with 25.5 percent and South Al Batinah with 23.6 percent. The Governorate of Al-Buraimi saw an increase of 22.3 percent and North Al Batinah of 20.4 percent.
The statistics indicate that the Governorate of Muscat has the highest number of registered SMEs with a total of 17,927.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion (MoCIIP), the Invest Easy Portal and “Sanad” have recorded 24,664 submissions for licence approval since the launch of the gateway at the beginning of April 2021.
The service was introduced by the MoCIIP and other key stakeholders in the (business) ecosystem in Oman and allows investors to obtain a business licence in less than 24 hours. It extends to approvals for over 1,500 economic activities including the sectors of agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, electrical supplies, water, construction, wholesale and retail and transportation and warehousing. The key stakeholders hope that the streamlined service will encourage entrepreneurship and attract foreign direct investment to contribute to the country`s diversification.
The development and implementation of the applications and the latest data emphasize the impact of digitisation on the improvement of the ease of doing business in Oman.
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