Oman takes $3.55 bln China loan to cover budget deficit
![Oman Central Bank.](https://i0.wp.com/www.riyadhvision.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Oman-Central-Bank..jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1)
![Oman Central Bank.](https://i0.wp.com/www.riyadhvision.com.sa/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Oman-Central-Bank..jpg?resize=786%2C442)
Oman Central Bank.
:: Oman on Wednesday announced it has taken out a $3.55-billion loan from Chinese banks to cover its budget deficit for the current fiscal year.
The sultanate had originally planned to raise $2 billion on the Chinese market but raised the amount because of strong demand, the finance ministry said.
It said Oman had previously raised $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 $7.7 billion (3 billion riyals) and vowed to press on with an austerity program to combat the global slump in oil prices.
You must be logged in to post a comment.