Oman Signs 23 Agreements and Partnerships with China Worth Several Billion Dollars
Key Facts
The Oman Investment Authority signed 23 agreements, memoranda and partnerships with Chinese institutions and companies on November 2, 2026, with a total value described as several billion dollars, according to Oman Observer. The package covers direct investment, asset management, project finance and banking cooperation, as well as productive and technology sectors. These include renewable energy and related industries, mining, logistics, digital transformation and space technologies. The agreements are part of an effort to expand economic partnerships between the two countries, while some of their provisions comprise preliminary term sheets and cooperation agreements. The announced agreements distinguish between investment fund proposals and specific projects, placing financing and implementation mechanisms at the heart of the package.
Among the main provisions is a preliminary term sheet signed by the authority with the Silk Road Fund to establish a joint fund with capital of $800 million, equivalent to 307.6 million Omani rials. Oman Observer said most of the fund’s investments would be directed to Oman, with the remainder going to China and other emerging markets. This allocation puts the Omani market at the center of the largest share of targeted investments, if the proposal advances to the investment stage. But the signed term sheet is preliminary and does not mean that the full capital has already been invested. The proposed structure gives the fund a reach beyond the Omani and Chinese markets, while stating a priority for Omani projects.
The authority also signed another term sheet with China Merchants Bank to establish an investment fund worth $300 million, or 115.35 million Omani rials, with equal contributions from both parties. According to Oman Observer, the project builds on a partnership that began in 2019, when an earlier fund was established to invest in China’s technology sector. The proposed step combines new financing with the continuation of existing investment cooperation between the two sides. The equal contribution reflects the parties’ shared financing of the proposed fund, without by itself meaning that its establishment is complete. The fund joins the Silk Road Fund among the financing tools included in the package.
In energy, the package includes a $100 million partnership to develop solar power projects in Oman and establish a facility to manufacture solar inverters. The project brings together local energy production development and an industrial component tied to solar equipment. The proposed facility would also add manufacturing activity to projects aimed at generating electricity from the sun. The partnership falls under the renewable energy and related industries pillar included in the agreements. The coverage provided no further details on project locations or implementation schedules.
The Oman-China memorandum of cooperation on technology and space covers artificial intelligence, the peaceful uses of space, and space science, technology and applications. It extends to the BeiDou satellite navigation system, as well as data and the digital economy, according to Oman’s foreign ministry. These areas place technology cooperation alongside the package’s traditional investment sectors, such as mining and logistics. The memorandum also links space applications and data, on the one hand, with digital transformation on the other. The list of areas provides a framework for cooperation, without specifying in the published information any implementation projects or funds allocated to them.
The agreements come as trade and investment exchanges between the two countries expand. Bilateral trade reached about 9.6 billion Omani rials in 2025, including Omani exports to China of about 7.7 billion rials and imports of about 1.9 billion rials, according to Oman’s foreign ministry. In the first seven months of 2026, trade totaled about 5.4 billion Omani rials, while Chinese direct investment in Oman rose to 903.8 million rials by the end of the second quarter. Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s visit to China on November 1 and 2, 2026, was the first visit by an Omani sultan to the country since diplomatic relations were established 48 years ago. The economic cooperation mechanism dates back to a joint committee established under a trade agreement signed in 1980. The committee held its 10th session in Beijing in December 2025, where it discussed opportunities in renewable energy, manufacturing, digital trade and logistics.
In a joint statement during the visit, the two countries agreed to encourage capable and willing companies to invest and operate in each other’s markets, deepen financial cooperation and make use of a local-currency swap agreement to facilitate trade and investment, according to Oman’s foreign ministry. Sultan Haitham identified clean energy, hydrogen, advanced technologies, artificial intelligence and the digital economy as areas for strategic partnership. He called for accelerating joint programs and strengthening private-sector participation. He said the next phase should see “higher-quality investments, joint industrial and technology projects, and deeper financial and institutional ties” between the two countries. These priorities frame what the two governments seek to develop following the signing of the investment package.