Muscat: The Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council (FAERC) held its first meeting for 2019 on Tuesday. The meet was chaired by Darwish bin Ismaeel al Balushi, Minister Responsible of Financial Affairs, FAERC Deputy Chairman. The Council reviewed a report on the position of the external and local public debt until the end of December 2018, and a report on the credit rating of the Sultanate according to the assessment prepared by some international rating agencies.
The Council stressed the importance of studying the observations and recommendations of these agencies’ reports and taking all necessary measures to improve the credit rating of the Sultanate. The Council, after reviewing the methodology followed by these agencies, has found that it focuses mainly on the financial and economic indicators of the Sultanate and does not take into account certain developmental and social dimensions. The Sultanate follows the gradual approach in dealing with the financial situation and facing the challenges caused by the decline in oil prices.
The Council also reviewed some financial and economic indicators of the Sultanate achieved during 2018 compared to 2017, including the increase in public revenues by 29 per cent, the decrease of the estimated deficit in 2018 by 28 per cent and the growth of GDP by 12 per cent in current prices (according to preliminary data), mainly supported by the growth of non-oil sectors and the improvement of the Sultanate’s competitive indicators. The Council also reviewed a report on the activity of the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF). — ONA
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