User:SilkySingh/sandbox/Salalah Free Zone

 Investments & Opportunities in Oman 
 * Introduction
 * Salalah City
 * Salalah Free Zone
 * SFZ Offices
 * Port of Salalah
 * References

Salalah Free Zone
Salalah Free Zone  (SFZ) is a special economic zone in Salalah, which is a port city in Oman around 1000 km south of Muscat. It has investments from more than 4 billion USD companies representing different industry sectors.

City of Salalah
Salalah (Arabic: صلالة;‎ transliterated Ṣalālah), is the capital and seat of the governor or Wali of the southern Omani province of Dhofar. The population of Salalah was 197,169 in 2009.

Salalah is the second largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city in the Dhofar Province. Salalah is the birthplace of the Sultan, Qaboos bin Said. Salalah attracts lots of people from other parts of Oman and GCC during the Khareef seaso

n, which starts from July to September.

The climate of the region and the monsoon allows the city to grow some vegetables and fruits like coconut.



Salalah Free Zone
Salalah is a location with cost competitive market reach and access in a country that has a business oriented environment.The Salalah Free Zone offers solutions to business owners and multinationals looking to expand their operations into Middle East, Africa, Southern Europe and South Asia. We will be there to assist you with any needs and requirements you have regarding the establishment of your organization’s presence and operations in the free zone. We will help you with visa procedures for employees, as well as government permits and the installation of utilities for offices and facilities. We can also assist you in finding suppliers and or contractors for all your business purposesA Location with Cost Competitive Market Reach and AccessSalalah’s global location, connectivity and cost competitiveness provide a unique advantage in terms of reach, enabling global sourcing and exporting from and to the world, and competitive total landed costs.First, the location of SFZ provides relocating manufacturers direct access to countries that are mostly raw materials exporters.Second, Salalah is among the most competitive cost locations in the region in terms of labor, utilities and infrastructure which combined with the proximity to the raw material sources offer relocating manufacturers competitive conversion costs.The regulatory environment of international standards, provides investors assurances of IP protection, 100% foreign ownership, taxes exemption and freedom of repatriation of capital.The location becomes more attractive when considering the access it offers to Free Trade Agreements (FTA), currently regionally net importing markets, and trade routes. The access to the US-OMAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provides considerable duties exemptions.
 * A lease for 25 years (renewable)
 * 100% foreign company ownership
 * Zero customs duties on imports and exports
 * No minimum capital investment requirement
 * No taxes on profits or dividends for 30 years
 * No tax on personal incomes
 * No restrictions on repatriation of capital, profits and investments
 * Flexible customs procedures
 * 80% international labour
 * One Stop Shop Services
 * Free Trade Agreement with USA
 * Excellent Utility Supply
 * Satiable Politically, Financially and Rules
 * Best Located Port in Middle East with world class infrastructure

Salalah Free Zone offices
Salalah Free Zone has offices in Muscat and Salalah .By 2016, SFZ plan to open a representatives office in India.

Free Trade Agreement between Oman and United states
FTA is an interesting opportunity to attract companies seeking to reduce their cost, if they generate at least 35% of their value in Oman. The FTA seems to be particularly attractive in various sectors such as textile, electronics and other consumer goods and products, traditionally exported from Asia to the US. Neither Europe, India, nor China have a similar agreement. Tenants of SFZ can start trading in a true global customs free environment.Furthermore, the location is the center of gravity to the East Africa/GCC/Subcontinent market, which imports more than USD$620 Bln of goods and materials per year, providing defacto an attractive regional market.Finally, the strategic location between trade routes of the East and the West (with over USD 2 trillion worth of goods passing through every year, Salalah is located right at the heart of world trade) gives

Port of Salalah
Port of Salalah, operating since November 1998 and recognized globally as a leading transshipment hub positioned among the world's top ports, continues to play a vital role in the economic future of the Sultanate of Oman.The port is partly owned and managed by APM Terminals, one of the largest container terminal operators in the world.Strategically located at the major East-West Shipping Lane, the Port of Salalah is viewed as the region's best located port in order to access the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and East Africa.Port of Salalah is a made up of a Container Terminal with seven berths of up to 18m draft and a General Cargo Terminal of twelve berths of up to 16m draft, with infrastructure to handle the world's largest container vessels, as well as bulk cargo, bunkering and warehousing.Excellent infrastructure and a proven track record for efficient operations at the Port of Salalah complement its strategic location. In Oman, it is among the top publicly-traded companies, as well as the largest private sector employer in the Governorate of Dhofar. Salalah Free Zone a shipping cost and delivery time advantage to relocating manufacturers when compared to China, USA and India as well as regional competitors.The location has already developed the required connectivity enablers to exploit its potential as it is served by the Port of Salalah, an international airport, a major network of highways into GCC markets, and in time, will be connected by a GCC-wide rail network.Oman Air also offers a competitive sea-air connection from Asia to Europe that saves 48 hours on lead times and passes through Salalah.Salalah Port is today a major regional and global transshipment hub, second only to Dubai in terms of size, and first in the Indian Ocean. It is also one of the biggest deepwater ports in the world. Three of the World’s largest shipping lines call at the Port of Salalah offering regular weekly connections to global hubs (e.g. 23 to Europe, 21 to Indian subcontinent, 13 to Asia, and 11 to Africa). As a result, import and export shipping times are on average 30% to 40% lower than other competing locations (e.g. 15 days to New York, 12 days to England, and 8 days to Singapore).Oman: A Business Oriented EnvironmentOman's modernization, which has lasted since the 1970s, has given the country the public infrastructure enjoyed by developed countries. Overall, Oman offers an ideal business environment as the Government regulations and laws in Oman are specially designed to make conducting business easy and hassle-free. Investors will find a stable, secure setting for their business to flourish in Salalah.The government has recently introduced the One-Stop Shop (OSS), which entails online company registration, letting the process of business registration take around three days time: from depositing initial capital at the bank, registration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), notification of the Tax Department of the Finance Ministry, registering employees for social insurance to making a company seal, the procedures are transparent, simple and take place simultaneously which make it fast and efficient.Oman offers abundant resources with access to a wealth of natural resources, energy and domestic and international financing and together with the Salalah Free Zone they offer a comprehensive business ecosystem able to meet the needs of companies.

The Salalah Free Zone is customs- and tax-free for all investors and multinational organizations.The Omani business environment and Salalah Free Zone offer businessmen, entrepreneurs and multinational organizations several incentives that provide ease, security and profitability. These include (i) up to 100% ownership and 0% income tax, with no minimal capital requirements with establishing a company or representative office in the Free Zone., (ii) no import restrictions or restrictions of repatriation of capital, (iii) export guarantee insurance, (iv) exemption from all taxes, and (v) access to commercial loans.