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The Omani Investment Authority yesterday announced the winning companies in the categories of the Omani Investment Authority Excellence Award in its first edition, on the sidelines of the 8th Rabawet Forum, under the auspices of Shaikh Fadl bin Mohammed al Harthy, Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers.
The OQ Group won the award in Growth and Job Creation category for achieving a high compound annual growth rate for the years 2021 to 2023, as well as the highest growth rate in export revenues among competing companies, along with its contribution to the highest percentage of Omanis’ employment and training.
The Asyad Group won the award in the Partnerships for Sustainable Future category, as the private sector’s participation represented the highest percentage of recorded capital expenditures for the group, in addition to its contribution in attracting external investments exceeding RO 600 million for the period from 2021 to 2023.
The Fisheries Development Oman won the award in the category of Local Added Value for and Small and Medium Enterprises, due to having the highest percentage of expenditure on small and medium enterprises from total contracts and implementing a large number of research, development, and innovation projects.
In the Compliance with Governance System category, the Ithca Group won the award for achieving the highest compliance rate with the governance system issued by the Authority to its subsidiaries, while the Excellence in Financial Sustainability category was not awarded due to not meeting the award’s requirements.
The first edition of the Omani Investment Authority award aimed to enhance competition and development spirit among the Authority’s affiliated companies and celebrate the outstanding achievements and exceptional performance of the companies, seeking to achieve higher levels of excellence and growth for the competencies embraced by these companies, creating sufficient space for innovation and creativity.
The evaluation process in all categories was based on clear foundations and standards formulated with the participation of companies, relying on reports issued by contributors from the companies’ boards of directors, data from the companies, as well as audited data by external auditors, through the formation of an evaluation committee comprising members from several directorates in the Authority: Economic Diversification, Investment Information Management Systems, Local Value Added, Institutional Performance and Planning, Governance, and Compliance.
Abdul Salam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi, President of the Oman Investment Authority, said that the award came as a continuation of fruitful cooperation from the Authority’s affiliated companies, culminating in efforts made by the Authority and its companies together over four years, contributing to achieving good financial and administrative performance by the companies.
He explained that the award categories were linked to economic prosperity, where the Authority sought to achieve competitiveness among companies for better performance and continuous and sustainable economic development serving the Omani society in all its spectrums, in addition to embodying the most important areas that the Authority has a great interest in, in line with national targets and priorities.
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