SASBACHWALDEN, Germany: Euro zone growth is stronger than expected and this will enable the European Central Bank (ECB) to slowly normalize its monetary policy and end a “crazy situation” of negative interest rates, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday.
Senior German government officials have stepped up the pressure on the ECB to scale back its monetary stimulus of bond purchases and sub-zero rates as Germany heads toward federal elections and voters complain about meager savings returns.
Critics of the ECB’s decision to buy sovereign bonds on the secondary market also argue that the program has reduced pressure on euro zone governments to implement reforms.
Speaking to voters in his constituency in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg less than three months before the Sept. 24 election, Schaeuble said the euro zone was recovering surprisingly well and the threat of deflation had vanished.
Schaeuble said that inflation in the euro zone was slowly picking up and that it was moving toward the ECB’s price stability target of just under 2 percent.
This development would help ECB policymakers find a case for normalization of their ultra-loose monetary policy, he added. “We must quickly come back to a situation in which interest rates are what they used to be,” Schaeuble said.
He also pointed out that euro zone governments still had some work to do when it comes to reforms and that France and Germany next week would press ahead with proposals to strengthen bilateral cooperation and European integration.
The veteran finance minister, 74, is the longest serving lawmaker in the Bundestag lower house of Parliament and he will run for another four years as a parliamentarian in September.
“I am ready to continue,” Schaeuble told the crowd of some 400 voters in the tiny Black Forest town of Sasbachwalden near Offenburg. “But for this, we first need a clear majority.”
Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus
Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus
Oman special zones investment rises 6.8% to $3.6bn
JEDDAH: Investment in Oman’s special economic zones, free zones and industrial cities rose 6.8 percent in 2025, reaching 1.4 billion Omani rials ($3.64 billion), official data showed.
The figure raises the total committed investment under the supervision of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones, known as OPAZ, to 22.4 billion rials, the Oman News Agency reported.
This increase underscores the central role of the zones in Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy to diversify the economy, drive growth, create jobs and expand the private sector.
The authority said 325 investment agreements were signed across sectors during the year, with additional land allocated for industrial projects in several zones.
“Development is ongoing in the Al-Dhahira Special Economic Zone, the Al-Rawdah Economic Zone, and the Muscat International Airport Free Zone, alongside four new industrial cities in Al-Mudhaibi, Al Suwaiq, Thumrait and Madha to accommodate diverse industrial activities, enhance local manufacturing, and create additional job opportunities for Omani youth,” the ONA report stated.
Qais bin Mohammed Al-Yousuf, chairman of OPAZ, emphasized the authority’s commitment to fostering a competitive and attractive investment environment that supports economic diversification and financial sustainability.
He said the authority’s strategy focuses on positioning special economic zones, free zones and industrial cities as preferred investment destinations through business-friendly regulations, targeted incentives and maximizing value added by projects.
Al Yousuf added that these zones have established themselves as integrated economic platforms that support diversification, enhance investment attractiveness and maximize the benefits of free trade agreements and comprehensive economic partnerships.
OPAZ expanded its international outreach in 2025 by joining the World Free Zones Organization, a move aimed at aligning local zones with global standards and attracting cross-border investment.
The authority is developing specialized clusters including an integrated cold chain hub in Duqm, an aluminum cluster in Sohar Industrial City and a mining cluster in Shaleem, as well as a proposed silica and mining complex in the Duqm Special Economic Zone.
Ahmed bin Hassan Al-Theeb, deputy chairman of OPAZ, said that 2025 witnessed numerous achievements across the authority’s key focus areas, including planning and development; regulation and supervision; facilitation and aftercare services; marketing and investment attraction; operations and business acceleration; and institutional excellence.
He further said that the authority increased foreign investment outreach, contacting over 500 companies in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, and sustainable construction, as well as services, logistics, storage, and renewable energy technologies.
A new digital project-tracking system registered 294 investments across sectors including renewables, petrochemicals, fisheries and minerals by year-end, he added.
The zones created 4,467 jobs for Omanis in 2025, exceeding the 2,500 target and raising total national employment in the network to 30,780 out of about 85,000 workers. Omanization reached 36 percent, with 4,774 small and medium enterprises operating across the zones.
