The Central Bank of Oman has seen its foreign assets grow by 27.4 percent year on year, reaching 6.86 billion Omani riyals ($17.82 billion) by the conclusion of July, as revealed by the nation’s statistics authority.
In addition, the National Center for Statistics and Information noted a 4.9 percent yearly uptick in local liquidity as of the end of July.
The Oman News Agency, while delving into these figures, highlighted that private sector deposits in the country’s commercial banks and their Islamic windows reached 18.17 billion riyals by July’s end, marking a 6.5 percent rise from the same period the previous year. It’s worth noting that an Islamic window refers to a segment of a conventional bank that offers services and products compliant with Shariah principles.
Further data from the state agency showed a year on year growth of 8.7 percent in total loans and financing across commercial banks and Islamic windows, amounting to 30.27 billion riyals.
S&P Global Ratings, on Sunday, elevated Oman’s long-term credit rating from “BB” to “BB+”. This upgrade highlights the burgeoning potential in Oman’s non-oil sector, projected to witness significant growth, especially between 2023 and 2026.
Despite the positive outlook, the oil sector continues to dominate Oman’s economy, contributing to about 30 percent of its GDP, 60 percent of goods exports, and 70 percent of the government’s fiscal receipts. S&P Global emphasized this dependency in its report, stating, “This dependence weighs on our assessment of its fiscal and external resilience, which is reflected in the rating.”
The banking sector, too, drew attention in the S&P report, showcasing a credit balance boost with a growth rate of 5.3 percent this July, in contrast to July the previous year.
However, NCSI data from September paints a different picture for Oman’s GDP. A decline of 9.5 percent was recorded in Q2 2023 compared to the same quarter in the previous year, largely attributed to reduced oil activities. In hard numbers, the GDP at current prices dropped to 10.08 billion rials in Q2, down from the 11.14 billion rials in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year. Furthermore, the GDP at current prices for the first half of 2023 saw a decrease of 2.4 percent, standing at 20.39 billion rials compared to the same duration last year.
