OCCI supports the decision to combat hidden trade

Muscat: Rashid bin Amer Al-Muslehi, First Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained that the interest of the Sultanate of Oman – represented by government agencies concerned with economic affairs and the private sector in attracting foreign investments – is achieved through the system of integrated economic laws and legislations that stimulate investment in various sectors.

In a press statement, he said: These frameworks have become clear to the foreign investor, and enable him to benefit from the Foreign Capital Investment Law, pointing out that regulating and facilitating investment requires regulating hidden trade, given the danger it poses to the national economy and the efforts made by the private sector to raise its contribution. in the state’s gross domestic product.

He added that the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the decision of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion No. (412/2023) regarding combating concealed trade in the Sultanate of Oman and the articles it contains aimed at correcting the practice of economic activities in accordance with the applicable regulations and not covering up in commercial work.

He said that the private sector suffered from the negative effects of covert trade, including the failure of the private sector to keep pace with economic growth and the impact on economic stability policies, as well as the inaccuracy of economic indicators related to prices and rates of job seekers, indicating that the increase in various activities within the framework of commercial cover-up transactions, It leads to an increase in the demand for money and the retention of liquidity outside the banking system, as well as unfair competition with citizens, especially small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Rashid Al-Muslehi pointed out that the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as the official representative of the private sector in the Sultanate of Oman, is one of the first agencies to cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion to find the best mechanisms, including organizing the multiplicity of commercial records in cooperation with the concerned authorities in order to implement the law.