Oman today announced it has taken out a USD 3.55-billion loan from Chinese banks to cover its budget deficit for the current fiscal year.
The sultanate had originally planned to raise USD 2 billion on the Chinese market but raised the amount because of strong demand, the finance ministry said.
It said Oman had previously raised USD 5 billion with a bond issue and another $2 billion in sukuk, or Islamic bonds.
The loans aim to cover the deficit in the 2017 budget, deputy finance minister Nasser al-Jishmi was quoted by the official news agency ONA as saying.
Oman, a non-OPEC producer which pumps a modest 1 million barrels per day, in January announced a deficit of 3 billion riyals (USD 7.7 billion) and vowed to press on with an austerity programme to combat the global slump in oil prices.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
