KHALEEJ TIMES, Saturday, Sep 4, 2021 | Muharram 27, 1443
Oman posts budget deficit of $3.13b in July
Oman:
Oman posted a year-to-date budget deficit of 1.2 billion rials ($3.13
billion) in July, a 22.2 per cent annual decline in its fiscal shortfall, the
ministry of finance said, as the country starts reaping the benefits of fiscal
consolidation reforms.
Oman's revenues increased marginally by 0.5 per cent in the year to the end of
July when compared to the same period in 2020, while oil revenues went up by 3.4
per cent on the back of a rebound in crude prices after the coronavirus-driven
slump in 2020.
"As fiscal consolidation continues, the public spending continues to decline,"
the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Total spending was down by 4.7 per
cent in the year to July, compared to the same period a year earlier.
The oil-producing Gulf state has embarked on a raft of measures in the past year
to fix its debt-burdened finances and has asked the International Monetary Fund
to provide technical assistance on its debt strategy.
The reforms — which included the launch of a value-added tax — have helped Oman
raise billions of dollars in bonds and loans this year despite a yawning 2020
deficit of 19.3 per cent of gross domestic product caused by lower oil prices
and the coronavirus crisis.