Muscat: The Ministry of Economy is currently holding a press conference to review the performance of the Omani economy and the Ministry’s programs and initiatives during the last year.
Highlights
The ministry will review the status of the tenth five-year development plan, and the programs and initiatives of the Ministry of Economy in the field of development planning and development policies and programs.
The Omani economy has recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this reflects positively in the performance of the overall indicators.
The economy witnessed growth in constant prices of 2.1 percent during the first half of 2023 driven by the 1.4 percent growth in Oil and Gas sectors and non-oil activities by 2.1 percent.
The Omani economy is experiencing the benefits of three basic factors - governance, clarity of policies, and the presence of programs such as the Tenth Five-Year Plan and policies supporting the priorities of Vision 2040.
The GDP at constant prices witnessed positive growth rates during the years 2021 and 2022, amounting to 3 percent and 4.3 percent.
The size of public debt decreased to around 37% of GDP, which was also reflected in the improvement of the credit ratings.
The policies that contributed to improving macroeconomic indicators were the priorities given to reducing public debt, enhancing development spending, and promoting an attractive investment environment.
The indicators of the Omani economy are reassuring and moving in the right direction despite the presence of challenges.
The Gross Domestic Product GDP at constant prices achieved a growth of 2.1 percent during the first half of this year, reaching about a billion, compared to about RO16.7 billion during the first half of 2022.
The GDP at current prices is RO20.4 billion during the first half of this year, compared to its levels during the same period in 2022.
The economy is expected to grow at a rate of 2.3 percent based on real data, which the International Monetary Front (IMF) expects a growth of 1.7%.
The reason for the difference between expectations is that the IMF relied on old statistics and did not take into account the development of non-oil activities.
The inflation rate is expected to reach about 1 percent in 2023, while data from the International Monetary Fund put it at a rate of 1.9 %.
Total investment spending planned for 2023 will reach RO4.5 billion.
Public debt at the end of the first half of 2023 was RO16.3 billion, while the expected amount was RO23.2 billion.
The financial allocations for projects being implemented until July this year amounted to RO8 billion, covering all diverse sectors in various governorates.
The Ministry of Economy pays special attention to the development of the governorates with RO20 million allocated to implement 606 projects.
The initiatives that have been worked on to reduce the effects of inflation include fixing fuel prices, expanding the time frame for redirecting electricity subsidies to 10 years, expanding the list of goods exempt from value-added tax (VAT) to 513, wheat purchase initiatives, and supporting farmers.
RO10 million has been allocated for implementing Artificial Intelligence for the first time in ministries and government agencies.
The Omani economy is open and there are 34 agreements for mutual protection of investments between the Sultanate and the world.
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