Oman's wealth fund buys into Spanish rocket maker PLD Space

Summary

• Oman Investment Authority has invested in Spanish launch company PLD Space through a joint Omani-Spanish private equity fund.
• PLD Space signed a 2025 memorandum with Duqm Spaceport on potentially launching its Miura 5 rocket from Oman.
• The deal ties Oman's diversification push to one of Europe's few private orbital launch ventures.

The latest

Oman's sovereign wealth fund has taken a stake in PLD Space, the Elche-based developer of small-satellite launch vehicles, through the second Omani-Spanish Private Equity Fund. Muscat Daily reported the investment deepens the authority's exposure to the global space economy. A senior OIA official said it fits a strategy of spreading the portfolio across sectors and geographies while drawing capital and expertise back to Oman.

Details

• The company: PLD Space was founded in 2011 by Spanish entrepreneurs Raul Torres and Raul Verdu, and designs, manufactures and operates launch vehicles. According to the company, it carried out a successful rocket launch in 2023, becoming the first private firm in Europe to do so.
• The Oman link: In February 2025, PLD Space signed a memorandum of understanding with Duqm Spaceport covering the potential launch of its Miura 5 rocket from Omani territory. The arrangement remains conditional on commercial and technical studies, and no launch date has been announced.
• The rocket: Miura 5 is under development to carry small satellites and other payloads into low Earth orbit via dedicated or shared missions. The company says it plans to expand later into larger payloads, cargo transport and, eventually, human spaceflight capability.
• The fund: The second Omani-Spanish Private Equity Fund was established in December 2023 with RO45.6mn in capital. OIA and Spanish state-owned COFIDES each committed RO22.4mn, alongside an investment from fund manager MCH Private Equity.
• The mandate: The vehicle targets leading Spanish companies across manufacturing, tourism, logistics, healthcare, food and agribusiness, energy and telecommunications. It also seeks opportunities to build commercial links between its portfolio companies and Omani businesses.
• The precedent: The partnership builds on a first Omani-Spanish fund set up in 2018 with RO89.5mn in capital, roughly double the size of the current vehicle. The value of the PLD Space stake itself was not disclosed.
• The official line: Saif bin Hamad Al Mahrouqi, Senior Director of Joint Government Partnerships at OIA, said the investment supports economic diversification and the authority's role in economic diplomacy, reflecting what he called the "Omani dimension" in its international investments.
• The wider map: Muscat Daily reported the deal sits within a broader set of OIA strategic partnerships spanning Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, China, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Spain, Azerbaijan, India and Brunei Darussalam.

Background

Duqm, on Oman's central coast, hosts a special economic zone the government has promoted as a hub for industry and logistics. A spaceport there would extend that push into a new sector, using the country's low-latitude position as a launch argument.

Between the lines

The structure matters as much as the cheque. By routing the stake through a fund it co-owns with Spain's state investor COFIDES, OIA gains access to a European launch firm already bound to Duqm by a 2025 memorandum. The stated aim of linking portfolio companies to Omani businesses suggests the investment is meant to pull activity toward Oman, not only returns.

What's next

The commercial and technical studies governing the Duqm memorandum are the decisive signal, along with any confirmed Miura 5 launch schedule or formal agreement upgrading the spaceport arrangement beyond a memorandum of understanding.

Source: Muscat Daily via ZAWYA