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Oman, Qatar rank 5th most economic free countries; UAE, Jordan top list

Oman, Qatar rank 5th most economic free countries; UAE, Jordan top list
The Sultanate of Oman ranked fifth out of 22 members of the Arab League in the Economic Freedom of the Arab World 2014 report, Muscat Daily reported, adding that the report was launched at the Economic Freedom of the Arab World Conference in Amman, Jordan.

Oman has improved its ‘access to sound money’ added to recording an increase in the ‘regulation of business, credit and labour,’ the report highlighted, adding that the Sultanate, which is represented by Ithraa, joined countries from across the Arab world to discuss ‘Economic Freedom and the Public Sector’ during a two-day conference, a press release said.

Ithraa Chairman Dr. Salem al Ismaily moderated an interactive panel entitled ‘How good governance, public sector efficiency and privatisation can contribute to economic development.’ The session included senior executives from international companies discussing how national economies can benefit from the marriage of public- and private-sector agencies. Moreover, Ithraa director general of research studies and e-services, Azzan al Busaidi shared the main findings and implications of the 2014 report.

Commenting on the findings, Busaidi, said, “The report shows that Oman is making considerable progress towards a free and open market that will provide new opportunities for enterprises to thrive. The results indicate that the sultanate’s economic freedom will grow due to the ongoing regulatory improvements that will support local development, attract inward investments and ultimately advance economic diversification.”

It is worth highlighting that Jordan and the UAE saw a tie as the most economic free nations in the region, with Bahrain and Kuwait ranking third and fourth, respectively, while Qatar joined Oman in fifth place. Lebanon dropped to seventh place. Saudi Arabia was ranked eighth and Yemen ninth, with Tunisia completing the top ten.

It is worth noting that the report ranked all 22 countries in terms of key areas of economic freedom including size of government expenditure, taxes and enterprises; commercial and economic law and security of property rights; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally; and regulation of credit, labour, and business.