The Sultanate, in recent times, is making each and every effort to bring the public debt within the limits.
Muscat: The Sultanate has controlled the payment of part of the public debt thanks to the monetary surplus it has achieved thanks to the accumulation in oil costs and fiscal and government reforms, contributing enormously to the improvement of the general economic situation.
The Sultanate, in recent times, has been making each and every effort to bring the public debt within limits.
Aseel bint Mohammed Redha Al Lawati, director of the Public Debt Management Unit of the Ministry of Finance, said in an Al Shabiba program, ‘Ma’a Al Shabiba’, that the Public Debt Management Unit was established in 2016 and since then, the unit has consistently strived to manage the Sultanate’s public debt portfolio and related risks well, adding timely access to adequate portfolio financing, review of existing loans, refinancing of cheap loans, and diversification of local and foreign financing resources.
This has contributed to reducing the expansion of public debt, attributable to deficit financing since 2015 and then due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Public debt has exceeded OMR 20 billion, he added. External public debt represents 75% of the public debt portfolio.
Since the beginning of the current year, we have achieved a monetary surplus due to the accumulation of oil costs for the first time since 2014, he said, adding that we have used part of the surplus for early repayment of loans/borrowing. By the end of August 2022, public debt had been reduced to around OMR 18. 4 billion, enabling the economy to cope with any long-term crises, mitigate risks and generate long-term savings.
On the payment of the public debt, he said that around OMR 2400 million of public debt had been paid, exceeding our expectations. In the current year, OMR4 billion will be paid. In March, we refinanced a loan that is expected to be repaid in 2023. This is in addition to the prepayment of some loans, such as the $3. 6 billion Chinese loan, to mention the acquisition of government sovereign bonds in the local market.
For example, debts maturing between 2023 and 2025 exceeded OMR 6 billion, the amount of which is expected to fall to less than OMR five.
According to the most recent reports published by credit rating agencies, one of the reasons for the improvement in the Sultanate’s credit rating is the minimization of pressure on external debts, he said, adding that next year, in January, external financing would be roughly the US. $1. 25 billion. .
© Muscat Media Group Provided through SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate. info).