The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the current budget deficit of the Sultanate of Oman will decrease to about 2.4 percent of GDP, compared to 19.3 percent last year, provided that the Sultanate will be able to achieve a surplus next year.
The Omani’s public debt rose to 81.2 percent of GDP, and financing needs were covered by domestic and external borrowing and asset withdrawals, but it is expected to witness a sharp decline in the medium term. The IMF estimates that total government debt will shrink to about 70.7 percent of GDP this year and that it will fall further to about 47 percent of GDP in 2026.
Since the oil price collapse in 2014, Oman has accumulated significant debts, bypassing a drive to diversify revenues away from oil and cut spending on its bloated public sector. The Omani economy contracted at the end of last year by 2.8 percent, but it is expected to recover and grow by about 2.5 percent this year, with the continuation of the vaccination campaign against the Coronavirus and the recovery of external demand. The government intends to invest about $28 billion in a number of future development projects as part of the economic reform strategy.
Source (London-based Al-Arab Newspaper, Edited)
