Exporting to the booming markets of South East Asia will be the focus of three upcoming workshops organised by Ithraa, a leading inward investment export development agency in Oman.

The workshops are scheduled to be held in Sohar, Muscat and Salalah, said a statement from the company.

The three workshops, organised by Ithraa’s directorate general of export development, have been designed specifically to help Omani non-oil exporters understand the potential of exporting to Singapore and using the wealthy city-state as a launch-pad into markets in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, it added.

Based on an in-depth market study, the company has identified 50 Omani products that have the ability to compete in Singapore, including fish, foodstuff, dates, marble and stone, plastics and chemicals, it said.

The three workshops will take place March 28 at Sohar’s Crowne Plaza Hotel; March 30 at the Muscat Inter-Continental Hotel; and April 4 at the Hilton Hotel in Salalah, it stated.

The Ithraa study provides Omani exporters interested in the Singaporean market with detailed trade information related to competitors, export and import data, domestic consumption trends, custom duties, taxes, handling charges and opportunities to export under the GCC – Singapore free trade agreement. In addition, the study, contains information on Singaporean importers interested in sourcing Oman made goods, added the statement.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) is an increasingly important economic region of 620 million residents and considerably larger than the European Union, it said.

Additionally, to maximise the benefits of the study, Ithraa will also organise a series of business-to-business (B2B) meetings in Singapore later this year in co-ordination with Oman’s General Consulate in Singapore and Muscat-based Advanced Business Consultants.

Nasima Al Balushi, Ithraa’s director general of export development and organiser of the workshops, said: “It is predicted that the Asean economy will become the fourth largest single market by 2030, and an additional 200 million residents from the region will enter the middle class. This growth in consumers presents exciting opportunities for non-oil Omani exporters.”

“As its most developed economy and regional trade hub, Singapore is a natural starting point and gateway into the Asean region. It is in many ways the ideal location for Omani exporters to operate their regional businesses from,” she added. – TradeArabia News Service