“Fitch”, the International Credit Rating Agency, gave Oman a credit rating of BB-, which is the same as the agency’s previous rating. This evaluation comes in view of the challenges surrounding the application of financial control measures in light of the current conditions, represented by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the local economy.
According to the agency, the medium-term financial plan, which the Sultanate of Oman began implementing, has contributed to enhancing the prospects for an improvement in the state's financial position, which is expected to have a total financial impact of about 4.7 billion Omani riyals by 2024.
The agency expects that the general budget deficit will decline to 6.1 percent of GDP during 2021, and that the Sultanate's economic growth will rise by about 3.3 percent during 2022, in light of the increase in average oil production and a return to levels before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The agency indicated that the level of the required break-even point for oil prices will decrease from their high levels by the end of 2025, in addition to a decline in the non-oil primary deficit from 40 percent to about 25 percent in light of the continued implementation of spending rationalization and fiscal control measures at their current levels.
Source (Ad-Dustour Jordanian Newspaper, Edited)
