Once abandoned, sleepy villages on the under-construction road from Oman to Saudi Arabia are coming back to life as residents hope for a more prosperous future.
The motorway, more than 700 kilometres long, will start from Ibri, a town in south-west Oman, and end in Alkwifriah in Al Ahsa, eastern Saudi Arabia. It is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
The road passes straight through the Rub Al Khali desert, known as the Empty Quarter, which spreads across Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The section of the road in Oman is about 160km long, and about 580km of it will be in Saudi Arabia.
Once completed, the road will save more than 16 hours of travel time between the two towns at each end. The existing 1,600km road linking the two nations also cuts through the desert, but via a much longer route. It was built more than 40 years ago.
Ibri is home to Bat, a Unesco world heritage site dating to the third millennium BC. It has monumental stone towers and ancient tombs and was once a thriving a trade route that linked Oman and the rest of Arabia.
For the last two decades, nearby villages such as Wadi Sharsah, Al Ayn and Khutm were being abandoned as young people moved to cities including Muscat, Sohar and Salalah in search of a better life.
“I was planning to move to Muscat if I found a job there, just like the rest of the young generation here who were moving out from Wadi Sharsah village looking for brighter future. But I am now excited about the new road,” Khalfan Al Siyabi, 25, told The National.
Mr Al Siyabi, who has been looking for a job for two years, said he could not wait for the construction work to finish so he could start a business. “With the help of my brothers working in Muscat, I am going to buy a bus and use it to transport pilgrims to Makkah once the road is completed,” he said.
Another three young men, all in their twenties, were planning to start a tour company to introduce Saudis to the prehistoric site of Bat.
"They will come from Saudi Arabia and even from Muscat and the rest of the Gulf to see the old Bat civilisation and we will be here to show them around,” Said Al Abri, 26, from the village of Al Ayn in Ibri, told The National.
“It is going to be very promising in a year or so from now,” he said.
The motorway was originally scheduled for completion in 2014, but was delayed because of technical and financial issues.
Ahmed Al Saifi, 56, has already taken matters into his own hands after years of barely managing. He has begun work to convert his land at the side of the road into a petrol station.
“Travellers will need a petrol station since it is going to be a long journey to Saudi Arabia. My brother is also going to build shops and a restaurant on his land as a stopover for travellers,” said Mr Al Saifi, a landowner in Khutm village.
“All this will bring new life and prosperity to the villages here. We are very excited about it.”
Saudi Arabia is in the midst of an ambitious economic development plan to wean the economy off oil. Last year Oman introduced measures to boost its finances. It also recently asked the International Monetary Fund for assistance to rein in its debt.
In July, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq travelled to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign visit since he took over in January last year after succeeding Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who had ruled for 50 years.
Last week, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih visited Oman to discuss opportunities in both countries. One of the topics was a plan to boost trade on the new motorway.
Both countries were hit hard by the coronavirus crisis and low oil prices last year, and are keen to attract foreign investment as part of their reform efforts.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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More from Aya Iskandarani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
