Arab News, Sun, Tue, May 14, 2024 | Dhu al-Qadah 6, 1445
Oman’s public debt slightly declines to $39bn
Oman:
Oman’s public debt stood at 15.1 billion Omani rials ($39.23 billion) by the end
of March, marking a slight decrease from 15.3 billion rials at the close of
2023.
This update comes as the Ministry of Finance
disbursed over 206 million rials in dues to the private sector through the
financial system during the first quarter of the year, the Oman News Agency
reported.
Recent developments in the public debt domain have
been positive, according to ONA. This is thanks to continued government measures
aimed at rationalizing spending, diversifying revenue sources, and directing
additional revenues toward debt repayment.
These efforts, including the repurchasing of
sovereign bonds, settling high-cost loans, and issuing local sukuk and bonds for
trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange, have contributed to an improvement in
Oman’s credit rating and future outlook, according to ONA.
International credit rating agencies have praised
the government’s efforts in managing financial obligations and reducing the size
of public debt, the agency reported.
However, the Ministry of Finance’s financial
performance data for the first quarter indicated a 12 percent decrease in the
state’s public revenues, primarily due to reductions in net oil and gas
revenues.
By the end of March, revenues had amounted to
around 2.8 billion rials, down from 3.2 billion rials in the same period of
2023.
Net oil revenues also saw a marginal 1 percent
decrease, totaling 1.6 billion rials compared to 1.7 billion rials in the first
quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, net gas revenues experienced a
significant 38 percent decline, amounting to 444 million rials, down from 720
million rials in the corresponding period of 2023.
Public spending until the end of the first quarter
of 2024 amounted to 2.6 billion rials, reflecting a decrease of 103 million
rials, or 4 percent, compared to the actual spending during the same period of
the previous year.
Similarly, current expenditures of civil
ministries totaled about 1.97 billion rials, a decrease of 49 million rials
compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Total contributions and other expenditures reached
486 million rials, marking a 78 percent increase compared to 273 million rials
during the same period last year.
This increase is mainly attributed to the social
protection system, with support for petroleum products of 72 million rials and
140 million rials, respectively.