RIYADH: In a bid to boost local content and promote localization of industries, the Oman Investment Authority has signed a deal with the country’s Industrial Innovation Academy, the state news agency reported on Tuesday. The initiative aims to dissect value chains, identify investment opportunities and empower small and medium enterprises, the Oman News Agency reported. The move aims to equip the national workforce with skills aligned with market demands through specialized business acceleration programs. It seeks to boost local content and nurture domestic companies and homegrown products. The collaboration also aims to leverage the resources and databases available at the Industrial Innovation Academy, with a focus on serving the country’s entrepreneurial landscape. Small businesses in Oman are also set to benefit from a $53.33 million finance agreement signed by the country’s development bank and the Saudi Fund for Development. The funding is part of a larger $150 million support program for Oman provided by the Kingdom through the SFD, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The deal aims to support the initiatives of the bank in the financing activities of small and medium enterprises, enhance social and economic growth, and create jobs in various governorates of Oman. The agreement is the latest by the SFD, which has been contributing to developmental projects across the globe since its inception in 1974. State revenue Oman’s general state revenues between January and July declined 10 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, reported the Finance Ministry in its performance report released on Monday. The figures show that revenues totaled approximately 7.18 billion Omani rials ($18.6 billion) between January and July, down from 8 billion rials in the corresponding period of 2022. One of the contributing factors to this decline was a 3 percent decrease in net oil revenues, which reached 3.71 billion rials in the first seven months of this year, compared to 3.82 billion rials in July 2022. The net gas revenues plummeted by nearly 35 percent to approximately 1.32 billion rials by the end of July 2023, compared to 2.05 billion rials in the same period of the previous year. The decline resulted from changes in the methodology for collecting gas revenues based on the financial system of the Integrated Gas Co., which factors in net gas revenues after deducting expenses for gas purchase and transportation. Despite these declines, non-hydrocarbon revenues saw a 1 percent increase, reaching about 2.13 billion rials by the end of July 2023, compared to 2.1 billion rials in July 2022. On the expenditure side, public spending until the end of July 2023 amounted to approximately 6.48 billion rials, reflecting a decrease of about 7 percent compared to the same period in 2022, with non-hydrocarbon expenditures as the most significant expenses at 4.83 billion rials.