Oman Investment Bank, wholly owned by the government, was launched today to serve as the first specialized investment bank in the country. The step materialized after the relevant licenses were obtained from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA). Oman Investment Bank will have its headquarters at 'Bait Al Dana' in Al Khuwair, Muscat Governorate. The bank has been established to lend support to the government's strategic goals and meet the aspirations of local and regional investors. The bank will offer a wide range of financial services, including corporate consultancy and the development of local and regional stock markets. Abdulsalam Mohammed Al Murshidi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Investment Bank, said that the bank is now poised to shoulder its vital role in supporting the implementation of strategic goals of Oman Vision 2040. Priority is accorded to developing a flexible, diversified, and sustainable economy and introducing more competitiveness, he added. Upon the realization of the bank, Oman has thus taken steps to finalize the tools and instruments required internationally for developing projects and investments, the most recent of which was the launch of the Future Fund Oman early this year (2024). As part of efforts to enhance its list of commercial franchise in upcoming years, Oman Investment Bank is focusing on providing an integrated set of strategic consultations and capital market products to serve listed and unlisted companies in Oman and other GCC states, in addition to global firms. The bank will operate in many sectors, including energy, industry, mining, consumer sectors, agriculture, money and asset management, real estate, infrastructure, technology, media and communications, as well as any other sectors targeted by the Sultanate of Oman. Source: Oman News Agency Syria strongly condemned the brutal crime committed by the Israeli occupation today against Palestinians who were waiting to receive food aid west of Gaza City, noting that most countries and peoples of the world protested against the continuation of genocide in Gaza as the International Court of Justice issued obligatory orders to stop the Israeli massacres, but the US-backed occupation entity confirms that it will not comply with international legitimacy, international law or international humanitarian law. 'The racist Zionist entity has once again revealed its bloody and fascist face through the massacres it has been committing for approximately five months against innocent Palestinian women, children and the elderly, and this morning its fascist forces committed a massacre against the Palestinians who were waiting for weeks humanitarian aid trucks to arrive in southwest Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 100 while about 1,000 were wounded,' Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement Thu rsday. The Ministry stressed that Syria, which stood by the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and the West Bank, affirms once again its strong condemnation of the criminals of the Israeli occupation and the crimes they commit, and calls on its supporters to stop this massacre immediately, otherwise they will be an integral part of the humanitarian catastrophe committed by the occupation and all those who support it. Source: Syrian Arab News Agency