Oman Fund, Spanish Firm To Finance Spanish Companies Abroad

Oman’s largest sovereign wealth fund and Spain’s Compania Espanola de Financion del Desarollo have agreed to establish a fund, initially 200 million euros ($220 million) in size, to finance Spanish firms, the Omani fund said on Wednesday.

The State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) said it had reached the agreement after talks between the Omani and Spanish governments. The SGRF is estimated to have assets of about $13 billion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, which tracks the industry.

Compania Espanola de Financion del Desarollo is a state- and private-owned firm which provides financial support to private direct investment projects in foreign countries where Spain has interests.

The new fund will focus on companies interested in doing business in Oman as well as other Gulf countries, East Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, the SGRF said. It will mainly look at the building materials, food, infrastructure, energy and tourism sectors.

Oman, seeking to diversify its economy beyond oil, aims to create jobs and obtain technology through the deal. The new fund is expected to be launched at the end of the second quarter and make its first investments as soon as the end of this year.