State General Reserve Fund

A sovereign wealth fund established in 1980 by the Sultanate of Oman, an Arab nation whose principal export is oil. The State General Reserve Fund was created to manage the investments of Oman's reserves, with the objective of ensuring the country's economic stability and sustainable development. The Fund is administered by Oman's Ministry of Finance.

Oman's Ministry of National Economy considers the establishment of the State General Reserve Fund as the most prominent achievement of the nation's first five-year development plan, which covered the period from 1976 to 1980 and coincided with a boom in oil prices. The fund's assets are estimated at more than $13 billion, according to a 2018 Pensions and Investments ranking. In January 2009, the fund acquired a 30% stake in Corpbank, Bulgaria's tenth-largest bank in terms of assets, for an undisclosed amount.

According to the Oman government website, the sovereign wealth fund invests the financial surplus forwarded to it. "It is as well the main investment arm of the country which acts on behalf of the government of Oman in managing and investing the surplus achieved by the state from Oil and Gas revenues. SGRF aims to achieve the best possible returns in the long-term to support the government efforts in diversifying income resources and securing returns for future generations, and to achieve the balance of the supreme financial policies of the state."

The Fund's investment portfolio has a diversified pool of investment tools and assets across 25 countries and a wide range of sectors in addition to strategic investments to ensure sustainable long-term returns. The fund's investments include "Public Markets Assets (tradable) that include global equity, fixed income bonds and short-term assets, and Private Markets Assets (non-tradable) which includes private investments in real estate, logistics, services, commercial, and industrial projects."

The fund states these objectives: "To maximize the revenues of the investments and administering them in a cautious way with less risks; to invest the money of the fund to achieve the best possible revenue with the observance of the distribution of risk criteria; to direct the investment in a strategic manner within a relatively long term period; to lead in the application of the best international practices; to benefit from the international relation network of the fund by attracting investments to the Sultanate and promoting local investments; to communicate with society in building the future of Oman; and to develop national competencies by investing in Omanis so that the fund is unique in the economic and financial sector."