Oman Business: Oman to post first fiscal surplus in a decade: Fitch – Gulf Digital News

Oman Business: Oman to post first fiscal surplus in a decade: Fitch – Gulf Digital News

Fitch Solutions, a leading provider of credit intelligence, has said that Oman’s latest data release supports its view that the sultanate will post its first yearly fiscal surplus in a decade in 2022 amounting to 6.5% of GDP.

Revenue figures were in line with Fitch’s expectations, and it expects revenue to rise further in H2 2022 as a result of high energy prices.

“We expect that expenditure growth will remain moderate due to authorities’ commitment to fiscal consolidation. Government debt data also came in line with our view as we expect it to further decrease to OMR17.5 billion ($45.46 billion) towards the end of the year, bringing Oman’s debt to GDP ratio to 47.5% in 2022, down from 67.3% in 2021,” Fitch said.

Posting surplus

Oman’s Ministry of Finance released data showing that the sultanate posted a surplus of OMR784 million in H1 2022 following a deficit of OMR1.1 billion in H1 2021. The improvement was driven by a 54.2% y-o-y increase in government revenues, mainly supported by a 40.1% y-o-y increase in oil revenues and a 137.8% y-o-y increase in gas revenues.

Data also showed a decrease in the public debt from OMR20.8 billion at the end of 2021 to OMR18.6 billion at the