The Oman Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Oman released its annual report on Tuesday, announcing a 9.95% return in calendar year 2023. The fund’s assets increased to 19.2 billon Omani rials ($49.87 billion) during the year.
The fund’s public markets assets grew at 9.8%, which the OIA notes were a result of strong returns from technology stocks and artificial intelligence.
The fund also announced many foreign direct investments, partnerships and allocation commitments, with many being in energy. The fund made direct investments in two businesses that make electrolyzers (devices that aid in the production of green hydrogen): the U.S.’s Electric Hydrogen and Australia’s Hysata. The fund also made an investment in Italian energy storage company Energy Dome.
The Oman Investment Authority was established in 2020, with the objectives of providing finances to the country’s budget and managing the assets of the sultanate by investing globally and funding the Omani’s ambitious Vision 2040 plan, which focuses on reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and promoting green energy sources. In 2022, the fund returned 8.8%.
The fund invests across two main portfolios, the Future Generation Fund, a program that invests in public and private market assets globally, and the National Development Portfolio, which aims to contribute to the state budget of Oman and the growth and development of the country’s economy.
The FGF had 7.065 billion OMR ($18.3 billion) in assets at the end of 2023, while the National Development Portfolio had 12.175 billion OMR ($31.6 billion).
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Tags: green hydrogen, Oman, Oman Investment Authority, Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, technology stocks