Oman’s Government expects to increase spending modestly this year under a 2019 state budget, to 12.9 billion Riyals ($33.5 billion), up from 12.5 billion Riyals in the original budget for 2018.
Revenues are estimated at 10.1 billion Riyals, assuming an average oil price of $58 per barrel this year; that would leave a 2019 budget deficit of 2.8 billion Riyals. The Government said it would finance 86 per cent of this year's deficit through local and foreign borrowing, while 14% of the deficit will be financed through withdrawal from reserves.
Oman’s economy is expected to grow by 1.9 percent in 2018 and by 5 percent in 2019, up 0.9 percent from 2017, according to an IMF report.
The economic growth has been boosted by higher oil revenues and a non-oil economy growth exceeding 3.5 percent, according to the latest data from the BMI Research Unit, a company of Fitch Ratings Agency.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
