Oman’s rating upgrades due to cut in public debt

Oman’s rating upgrades due to cut in public debt

Muscat: A number of experts and specialists concerned with economic matters reaffirmed the continued improvement and noticeable development in the Sultanate’s credit rating made by various international credit rating agencies.

The improvement in the credit rating is mainly due to the government efforts and action taken to control public spending, reduction of the public debt, increase in non-oil revenues and improvement of the several performance indicators of the State General Budget.

Mohammed bin Abu Bakr Al Ghassani, Chairman of the Board of Oman Development Bank said that the improvement in the Sultanate’s credit rating by the international rating agencies like Standard & Poors (S&P) in March 2024 saw its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Oman upgraded to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’.

“This improvement was on the back of the government’s efforts aimed to control the spending and to increase the revenues of the State, to reduce the public debt coupled with the efficiency of the financial and economic policies which came within the financial sustainability programme,” he said. He added that the improvement in the credit rating is a significant indicator for the investor’s confidence in the economy and the banking sector, which would result in the Sultanate’s possibility of