“Fitch” has raised the credit rating of the Sultanate of Oman to “BB” with a stable outlook. In view of the significant improvement in the general economic and financial indicators, external financing pressures have declined as a result of the commitment to implement the financial performance control measures and initiatives taken within the framework of the medium-term financial plan, in addition to the rise in oil prices.
In its report, “Fitch” agency expected the Sultanate of Oman to achieve a fiscal surplus of 5.5 percent and 3.4 percent of GDP in 2022 and 2023, respectively, achieving the first fiscal surplus since 2013, real GDP growth will rise to 4.4 percent in 2022 from 3.0 percent in 2021, and then to 2.8 percent in 2023.
The agency also expected a decline in government public debt to 46.7 percent of GDP in 2022 and 44.9 percent in 2023, and a decrease in the level of state-owned corporate debt relative to GDP in 2022.
According to the agency, the Sultanate of Oman succeeded in meeting the requirements of external financing for the year 2022 and reducing the size of the external debt maturities for the year 2023 to $1.7 billion through the proactive management of the lending portfolio. The agency expected a rise in sovereign net foreign assets in 2022, bringing the total foreign reserves in the Central Bank of Oman in the period 2022-2023 as a result of financial surpluses in the current account.
Source (Al-Dustour Jordanian Newspaper, Edited)
