Octal Highlights Growth of Oman’s Manufacturing Sector During OER Business Summit 2017

OCTAL, the largest PET sheet producer and integrated packaging company in the world, participated in the 2017 OER Business Summit to discuss the development and future of Oman’s burgeoning manufacturing sector. Pascal Cange, Director of Legal & Corporate Affairs at OCTAL, highlighted the OCTAL investment model in a panel discussion that reviewed the non-oil sector’s growing contributions to the Sultanate’s GDP.

Cange emphasized the integral role the manufacturing sector is playing in Oman’s trade balance and fully harnessing the Sultanate’s talented national workforce. He said, “Since low oil prices first impacted global markets in 2014, Oman has taken a highly proactive approach to limit its affects by using the crisis as a catalyst to further investments in its economic diversification strategies. Initiatives such as Tanfeedh, are already bearing fruit, helping Oman rise three places in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business 2017’ report, to 66^th. The manufacturing sector is at the forefront of this milestone, with the In-Country Value (ICV) scheme boosting performance, allowing firms to significantly contribute to non-oil economic growth, job creation, and exports.”

Using OCTAL as a key example, Mr. Cange underlined the company’s commitment to support Oman’s economic development. “Since 2006, we have risen to export to over 80 markets worldwide and account for a significant part of the non-oil economy and of the national GDP. 98% of our products are exported, favorably impacting the Sultanate’s trade balance. To date, we have maintained a strong dedication to environmentally-friendly policies and employing talented Omani youth, allowing us to significantly lower our carbon footprint through innovation and emerge as an employer of choice in Salalah. I have no doubt that Oman’s business-friendly policies, world-class infrastructure, and unique location along major trade routes will allow a greater number of manufacturing companies to make major contributions like OCTAL.”

Mr. Cange detailed how the Sultanate’s long track record of peace and stability, as well as its unique position in close proximity to half of the world’s population, was a major reason OCTAL chose the Salalah Free Zone to host its biggest manufacturing facility. Adding, “Today, we are proud to be Oman’s largest non-oil exporter and the world’s leading clear rigid packing material supplier. Our success offers other prospective entrepreneurs a snapshot into the advantages the Sultanate can offer them and what they can achieve should they fully harness the opportunity to invest in Oman.”

OCTAL is currently developing new products and working with local law firms to move its patent registration from the United States to Oman, further strengthening the company’s position in the Sultanate. Based in Salalah, OCTAL was established in 2006 to meet the converging trends in clear rigid packaging and environmental goals, making PET the format of choice across a wide range of packaging applications for foods and consumer products. With exports to more than 80 markets worldwide and numerous Fortune 500 companies among its customers, OCTAL’s innovations and global reach are assisting ever greater numbers of customers around the world convert wholesale to its fully-recyclable and economically-efficient PET solutions.