UAE Boosts Investment in Oman to OMR 255M Amid Hormuz Route Disruptions

UAE project investments in Oman rose to nearly 255 million Omani rials ($663 million) during the second quarter of 2026, according to data from Oman's National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) reported by TradingView. The figures mark a steep reversal from the first quarter, when UAE investments in Oman fell by around OMR 71 million.

The NCSI report showed that the UAE ranked as the third-largest investor in Oman during the second quarter, trailing only the United Kingdom and the United States. Over cumulative decades, the UAE stands as the fifth-largest foreign investor in Oman with total assets of nearly OMR 858 million, following the UK, the US, Kuwait—whose capital is largely concentrated in the Duqm oil refinery—and China.

The acceleration in cross-border capital and commerce follows severe disruptions along strategic maritime corridors. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz affecting regional oil exports and merchant shipping, Gulf Cooperation Council members have sought alternatives via Oman, the only GCC member located entirely outside the chokepoint. Several UAE oil and merchant vessels were reported attacked in recent weeks attempting to transit the strait.

Bilateral commerce has expanded alongside project capital. Omani exports to the UAE climbed nearly 90 percent to approximately OMR 1.56 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up from OMR 814 million ($2.2 billion) during the same period in 2025.

Across Oman's broader trade profile, non-oil exports increased by 10 percent year-on-year to OMR 4.88 billion, while re-exports rose 20 percent to OMR 1.34 billion. Although Omani re-exports to the UAE declined from OMR 433 million to OMR 293 million, re-exports to Saudi Arabia jumped 178 percent to OMR 274 million.