The change catalyst
The newly appointed chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OCCI), HE Khalil Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Khonji, talks about OCCI’s priorities under his stewardship in an interview with Ramesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar Singh

You’ve recently taken charge. Where do you see the OCCI in a few years from now?
In our very first board meeting, we had laid down a 10-point-agenda to increase and improve the activities pursued by the OCCI. One of the points is how to increase the role of the chamber as the facilitator between the government and the commercial as well as industrial sectors. The core idea behind this agenda lies in effecting a closer coordination among OCCI members on the one hand, as well as between the OCCI and industries across the Sultanate on the other.

What made OCCI lose its lustre in the years prior to your appointment?
We believe OCCI tried its best to play an active role. However, even in the changing situation we need to enact internal laws governing the ties between the chamber and the industries in response to the changing economic environment. The chamber needs more efforts in addressing the demands and concerns of different sectors.

How do you think you can make a difference?
Our country is entering a new phase of development. Hence, challenges are certainly there for us now to transform the OCCI and make it more active among business and industry circles. Though it’s not an easy task but a beginning has been made. We’re also planning to attach more importance to the role of chamber’s branches across Oman to cater to the needs of the burgeoning economic hubs that have come up, such as Sohar and Salalah. Now we have eight branches of OCCI, and we need to improve their reach. We hope these regional chambers will play more active roles before my tenure ends.

It’s said that the chamber is dominated by big industrial houses who don’t allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to have a say in the decision-making.
It’s not entirely true. Doors are now open to SMEs to have a greater say in the chamber as it’s in the interest of Oman to develop SMEs.

The scale of operations of chambers across GCC countries is much larger than that of their Omani counterpart. Why is OCCI lagging behind?
I prefer to disagree. Chambers of commerce in the GCC as well as in the Arab region function more or less on the same level. That’s why different business bodies have come up in these regions, with industry biggies as the henchmen to complement chamber bodies.

Does this mean that an industry body does not function well wherever governments have a bigger say in them?
The government doesn’t interfere in the functioning of the chamber. The point is that when things get old, people expect something new. In Oman also, we’re trying to infuse a new lease of life into the chamber to keep pace with the change.

What kind of role does the government play in the OCCI?
The government’s interference is minimalist and it has given adequate autonomy to OCCI. The government only appoints its seven board members, including its president, and the board then elects different committees of the chamber. We are not dependent on the government for any financial support either. Membership fee, which by law every member has to pay, is the main source of the chamber’s revenue.

Are there different categories of membership?
There’s no category as such. However, our priority is to give an equal say to the SMEs sector that comprises a large chunk of the total OCCI membership, exceeding 132,000 commercial establishments. Right now, the sector does not have a major say in the decision-making on the same scale as big businesses have. And when it comes to elections, big business enterprises reign supreme. Our office is in favour of bucking this trend. That means that if any businessman coughs up RO500 as membership, he is entitled to have 500 votes, while if someone pays RO30, his voting weightage will be 30 only. In other words, we plan to introduce proportional representation to ensure greater representation of all major sectors of the economy. So the more you pay, the greater say you’ll enjoy in decision-making. Hopefully, when the next elections take place after four years, we hope to have a new voting pattern in place.

But does that not mean that those with the money power will rule the roost?
Not really. The basic idea is to restructure the whole chamber. There is a need to change the way the board plans for the future. If the chamber doesn’t represent voices of all sectors of the economy, the subsequent decisions will fall short of addressing its concerns. And this will only happen when the patterns of voting as well as decision-making change. That is why we are pitching for overhauling the voting pattern, thereby encompassing all the sectors of the economy to have an equal say in the decision-making.

What are the priorities you have set before the chamber?
Our first priority is to restructure the whole set-up of the chamber in order to enable it to cope with the changing times. Secondly, we plan to give all our branches greater autonomy to enable them to discharge their functions more efficiently. Thirdly, we’ve approved setting up 10 specialised committees to address issues of different sectors, like economic and international policies; banking and finance; human resources and labour issues; legal structure; tourism and real estate; agriculture; fisheries; industries and promotion; services and lastly insurance. We’re soon going to hold elections to these committees and I hope by the beginning of next year, these committees will start delivering.

Our fourth priority is to strengthen the relationship between the government and OCCI. Further, we also plan to be more IT-savvy and put more emphasis on less paper work. Our emphasis will also be on giving a fillip to more foreign investments in Oman and making it the best investment destinations in the region. Putting more attention to SMEs sector also constitutes the core of our priorities as most of our 132,000 members belong to this sector. Next in our priorities is pushing for R&D facilities to encourage cutting edge technologies and innovation in Oman. Promoting agriculture and fisheries by inviting investment is also one of our priorities. And last, but not the least, we will continue to support local industries and products.

What role does OCCI play in facilitating trade ties with other countries?
OCCI regularly holds negotiations with foreign trade delegations on promoting commercial ties and new opportunities for bilateral trade and investment. Such interaction gives them an overview of Oman’s commercial set-up as well as an opportunity to establish ties with Omani businesspeople. This way, it holds immense importance in setting the course for future trade relations.

What’s your current understanding of Oman’s economy?
The economy is definitely on an upswing. And with the doors of foreign investment being opened up, opportunities are awash for Omani nationals who are being absorbed by different sectors of the economy. This was not the case a few years back. Further, the Omanisation drive has also evolved with time, as there is now greater emphasis by corporate sector on employing trained Omani people rather than just supporting Omanisation by employing Omani nationals, which was the case earlier.

How do you ensure that OCIPED and OCCI work towards a common goal?
I have also been a board member of OCIPED for sometime now. Besides, we’ve a joint committee where we plan out things together. We complement each other in promoting Oman together with our clear-cut objectives. However, the major difference is that while they are fully supported by the government, we’re supported by the private sector.

How comfortable are Omani businessmen when it comes to access to bank finance? Is the industry happy with what’s happening or do you plan to introduce some changes?
The big industries are content as they can access funds even from overseas apart from domestic markets. However, it is the SMEs sector that is facing a credit crunch, as banks operating in Oman are mostly engaged with big clients. However, we are going to discuss with the banks and the Central Bank of Oman on how to make proper facilities available for SMEs.

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