Oman’s net budget surplus narrows 82% y/y to USD 1.6bn in Jan-Nov 2013

By bne IntelliNews January 7, 2014

Falling revenue and rising spending cut Oman’s net budget surplus by 82% y/y to OMR 610mn (USD 1.6bn) in the first eleven months of 2013, the statistics office said in a preliminary estimate. Total revenue fell 0.7% y/y to OMR 12.787bn and public spending rose 1.7% y/y to OMR 9.753bn.

The “Actual expenditures under settlement” under the finance ministry’s methodology totalled OMR 2.423bn. NOTE: Oman’s finance ministry is using the terminology “Actual expenditures under settlement” whose sum was deducted from the total, or gross, budget surplus.

Net oil income (after transfers to the Reserves Fund) rose just 0.9% y/y to OMR 9.749bn following a 2.2% increase at end-October. Oil proceeds accounted for 76.2% of total revenue.

Gas proceeds, however, dropped 5.6% y/y to OMR 1.33bn over the period. Oil and gas income remain the main contributor to Oman’s state budget despite efforts to cut the country’s volatile dependency on the hydrocarbon sector. Corporate tax receipts rose 12.7% y/y to OMR 381mn as Oman’s non-oil sector remain strong despite its small contribution to the overall GDP. Customs duties shrank 18.5% y/y to OMR 172mn on lower imports whereas other revenues fell 9.9% y/y to OMR 1.123bn in January-November.

Lower spending on military and defence cut current spending by 0.9% y/y to OMR 5.8bn at end-November (down 2.5% y/y at end-October). Some OMR 2.642bn (down 9.5%) were spent on the security forces and OMR 2.74bn on civil ministries (up 6.4%). Capital spending rose 6.0% y/y to OMR 2.42bn in January-November.

Oman plans to sell sovereign Islamic bonds in 2014 to finance its budget needs and potential deficits in the future. 

Related Articles

Iraq holds talks with Excelerate Energy on buying first LNG from US

Iraq is in the final stages of negotiating its first-ever purchase of LNG supplies as power outages hamper the Middle East country, Bloomberg reported on June 26. Dallas-headquartered Excelerate ... more

Reformist Kamil al-Tayeb Idris appointed as Sudan’s new Prime Minister

Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a constitutional decree on May 19 appointing Kamil al-Tayeb Idris as the new prime minister, Al Sharq Al Awsat reported. He also ... more

Egypt examines LNG supply offers from Saudi Aramco, UAE’s Adnoc, Algeria’s Sonatrach, and QatarEnergy

Egypt's state-owned gas company EGAS has received several offers to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments urgently needed for summer, Al Sharq reported on May 18, citing an unnamed government ... more

Dismiss