Economics
Oil Keeps Oman on Debt Binge With $6.2 Billion Plan for 2019
- Oman expects 2019 budget shortfall to reach 2.8 billion rials
- Gulf state to borrow for fourth year after two-decade hiatus
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Oman’s government, whose budget deficit is among the largest of all the sovereigns tracked by Fitch Ratings, will tap capital markets for a fourth straight year to plug a fiscal gap vulnerable to lower oil prices.
The Persian Gulf nation is looking to raise 2.4 billion rials ($6.2 billion) internationally and at home, according to a state budget plan published on the Oman News Agency. Borrowing will cover 86 percent of the country’s 2.8 billion-rial shortfall, with the remaining 400 million rials to be drawn from the country’s reserves.