Muscat - Experts and specialists in economic affairs affirmed that the improvement and noticeable development witnessed by the Sultanate of Oman’s credit rating from various international credit rating institutions is a result of the government efforts and measures taken to control public spending, reduce public debt, increase non-oil revenues, and improve...
Engineer Mohammed bin Abu Bakr al Ghassani, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Development Bank, said that the improvement in the credit rating of the Sultanate of Oman from various international credit rating bodies and “Standard & Poor’s” (S&P) credit rating in particular - as it has risen since March 2023 when it was at BB with a positive future outlook for... BB+ level with a positive future outlook in March 2024 - comes as a result of the efforts made by the government to optimize spending, maximize revenues, and reduce public debt, especially high-cost ones, in addition to the effectiveness of the financial and economic policies.
Experts stressed that local and foreign investor views the credit rating as an important indicator for making investment decisions, and the continuous improvement is attributed to many reasons, the most important of which are oil prices, the government’s financial policy, and the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves.
He stated that the improvement of the credit rating of the Sultanate of Oman provides a great opportunity to advance the economy and seize these favorable conditions to expand the economic base obtain greater financing to carry out projects and push towards achieving the goals of the “2040” vision.
Dr. Khalid bin Saeed al Ameri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Economic Association, said, "The Standard & Poor's has confirmed the success of the economic and financial policies taken in line with national priorities, the objectives of the tenth five-year development plan, and the strategic directions of the 'Oman 2040' vision."
Al Ameri said that there has been an improvement in the size of the public debt. By the end of 2022, it was approximately RO17.6 billion, which decreased by 13.63 percent by the end of 2023 to RO15.2 billion.
This is an important achievement that was reflected in the improvement of the creditworthiness of the Sultanate of Oman, he said.
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