MUSCAT, NOV 22
Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the integrated sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman, has been accorded the honour of hosting the annual meeting of the prestigious International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) in Muscat in 2024.
Muscat-headquartered OIA won the mandate during the 14th annual meeting of the global forum that concluded in the Azerbaijani capital Baku last week. It comes in recognition of the Omani SWF’s increasingly high-profile role as an investor in globally renowned equities, as well as a key driver of Oman’s economic development.
OIA’s portfolio of investments, totalling around RO 16 billion, is distributed across 40 countries around the world, including Oman. Notable among its international investments in SpaceX, an American firm specialising in space exploration technology and operating aviation and space transportation industry.
Other investment-related decisions include the establishment of a fund to invest in future technologies with the China Commercial International Bank, the establishment of the Muscat Stock Exchange in accordance with Royal Decree 5/2021, and an investment in Mycotechnology Company, a US company specialised in the production of alternative food using the latest food technologies.
More recently, OIA announced investments in a number of US-based companies specialising in cutting edge electric vehicle battery materials research and products.
Notable names include Group14, a leading US company manufacturing trailblazing battery materials, Ascend Elements — another US-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling firm, and Crusoe Energy — a start-up specialising in Digital Flare Mitigation technology specifically targeting oil and gas operators.
Established in 2009, the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) is a global network of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) that seeks to enhance collaboration and dialogue between members, to promote a deeper understanding of SWF activity and to raise the standard for SWF best practices and governance.
The IFSWF annual meeting brings members and financial leaders together to discuss the key global issues affecting investors. The most recent meeting was hosted by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ).
Annual meetings usually rotate between member countries, with COFIDES of Spain set to host the 2023 edition in Madrid, Spain.
But in a significant development during last week’s in Baku, IFSWF members voted to invite the Oman Investment Authority to host the 2024 annual meeting in Muscat.
In attendance at the Baku session were top officials representing some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, as well as high-level figures from key private-sector partners including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Focusing on the theme, ‘Mobilising Capital for Change’, the Baku session dealt with significant issues of the current investment landscape, including rising inflation, deglobalisation, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and the digitisation of the investment process and financial landscape.
