Oman to prepay $1.33bn loan as oil revenue surges
Oman plans to repay a 512 million Omani rials ($1.33 billion) loan this month, ahead of maturity, as the sultanate uses revenue from soaring oil prices to reduce public debt and increase spending on priority projects. The government was also able to buy back some international bonds prior to their maturity and has issued local deeds to cut the cost of funding.
These steps are expected to result in savings of 127m rials, which will be deducted from the future debt service. Overall, Oman’s public debt is expected to fall to 18.6bn rials at the end of July, compared with 20.8bn rials in December 2021, the report said.
Earlier this year, Sultan Haitham, Ruler of Oman, said that the country plans to use additional revenue from soaring oil prices to reduce its public debt and support spending on government projects while ensuring inflation does not affect basic commodity prices.
Oman’s economy is projected to grow by about 4.5 per cent in 20222, while the government is expected to have a budget surplus of 5.5 per cent this year.
The sultanate recorded a budget surplus of 631m rials in the first five months of the year. Central government debt will shrink to 45 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2022, from about 63 per cent of output in 2021, the IMF said.
