Oman Investment Authority Plans $500 Million Fund for Central Asia and Caucasus

The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and five other investment institutions have agreed to establish a private equity fund for Central Asia and the Caucasus that aims to raise $500 million. A letter of intent was signed in Beijing on October 20, with a formal agreement expected in early November 2026. The other participating institutions are China Investment Corporation and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, both based in China; Uzbekistan’s Fund for Reconstruction and Development; Turkey’s Armed Forces Pension Fund, known as OYAK; and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The initiative is led by OIA. The fund will be known as the Central Asia and Caucasus Private Equity Fund. An Omani company is expected to manage it. OIA has identified Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as prospective investment markets. Priority sectors will include logistics, renewable energy, mining, agriculture, food production, and healthcare. The fund plans to acquire ownership stakes in regional companies, providing them with capital to expand their operations. The organizers will seek investment from sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors, although they have not disclosed how much of the $500 million target has been committed. Daniyar Imangaliyev, deputy chairman of the EDB’s Management Board, said the fund would help regional companies expand into new markets while attracting additional international capital to the bank’s member states. The initiative builds on the EDB’s cooperation with Oman. On October 6, the bank and the sultanate’s Ministry of Finance signed an agreement governing the EDB’s operations in the country. This marked a step toward Oman’s potential accession as a shareholder of the bank, which would make it the first Gulf state to join.