The budget approved at the beginning of last year forecast a deficit of 1.55 billion riyals.
The Omani budget surplus came after actual revenue increased by 37% over estimated revenue, to 14.473 billion riyals, while actual government expenditure stood at 13.329 billion riyals.
The agency said actual spending increased by 10% over estimated spending due to increased petroleum product support spending and additional appropriations to cover unavoidable and necessary spending by some government agencies.
She added, “The government will direct the additional financial revenue to accelerate the pace of stimulating economic growth, increase government support for fuel and commodities, reduce public debt and manage the loan portfolio.”
Oman’s budget was given a big boost by rising oil prices last year, which encouraged rating agencies to improve the Sultanate’s outlook, especially after it repaid 1.1 billion Omani riyals (2 $.86 billion) of loans in the first quarter of this year. , thus reducing the volume of public debt which stood at the end of March at 16.6 billion riyals, or 43.1 billion dollars.
Oman’s finance ministry said in April that the country was able to repay those debts, depending on how government revenue increased after oil prices rose.
In the current month, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Sultanate of Oman’s credit rating by one notch to Ba2, attributing this to stronger financial indicators given unexpected hydrocarbon revenues.
“The increase reflects the improvement in Oman’s debt burden and debt sustainability indicators in 2022, mainly due to large windfall gains from oil and gas revenues, which increase the country’s resilience. to possible future shocks,” Moody’s said.
The agency maintained a positive outlook for the country.
Earlier in April, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on the Sultanate of Oman from stable to positive and affirmed its rating at (BB).
The global rating agency said the positive outlook for the Sultanate reflects falling public debt relative to gross domestic product, with rising oil prices, the imposition of spending restrictions and reduced risks of external liquidity.
For its part, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s changed its outlook for the Sultanate of Oman to positive, from stable, in early April, saying that the government was carrying out reforms in its budget and reducing the total debt ratio. to 40% of GDP in 2022 against around 60% in 2021. .
The agency expected GDP growth in the Sultanate of Oman to reach around 2.5% per year, on average, between 2023 and 2026.
Oman has launched a medium-term financial plan in 2020 to reduce public debt, diversify revenue sources and boost economic growth.
It should be noted that data from the Ministry of Finance of the Sultanate of Oman this month showed that net oil revenue increased by 9% in the first quarter of this year, driven by higher prices and oil production, which helped the Sultanate achieve a budget surplus of 450 million Omani riyals ($1.17 billion).
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