The decree adds that the (Oman Future Fund) will allocate a percentage of its capital “to stimulate the bold investment scheme in small, medium and emerging businesses registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority.”
The agency said the new fund aims to boost economic activity and encourage the private sector to enter into partnerships or fund feasible investment projects in the economic diversification sectors targeted by Oman Vision 2040.
It should be noted that the Sultanate of Oman achieved a surplus of around 1.144 billion riyals ($2.97 billion) at the end of 2022, benefiting from the increase in oil revenues, the agency said. official press last Sunday.
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.
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 potential 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 expects the Sultanate of Oman’s gross domestic product to grow by 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.
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