Oman raises spending to USD36.6b

04 Jan 2015

(MENAFN) Oman’s finance ministry announced that it has raised the amount of government expenditure in the country’s budget for 2015 to reach USD36.6 billion, an increase by 4.5 percent compared with the expenditure set for 2014, despite expectations that the country is set to register a deficit due to the plunge in oil prices, Gulf Daily News reported.

The Ministry also said that it expects that the country’s revenues are projected at USD30.05 billion, declining by 1 percent from 2014 and resulting in an anticipated deficit of USD6.47 billion, which is equivalent to about 8 percent of Oman’s annual gross domestic product (GDP).

The ministry said it would look at a range of ways to cover the shortfall, which could include grants from foreign donors that could provide USD518.12 million, international loans, borrowing from the local market, state reserve funds of USD1.81 billion, and previous years’ surpluses of USD2.59 billion.

“Due to low oil prices, it was necessary to make some temporary measures to maintain financial stability. These measures will not affect the common people, their living standards or employment. Actual government spending in 2014 was about 14.5bn, higher than the original budget plan because of additional unplanned costs”, the ministry said.