| Annual Report 2019 | | https://cbo.gov.om/report/AnnualReport/119 | 12/5/2020 8:00:00 PM | Annual Report 2019 | The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released its Annual Report for the year 2019 indicating that total assets of the banking sector increased by 3.7 percent and amounted to RO 35.2 billion at the end of 2019 | | | https://publishing.bnet.om/sites/assets/Documents/English/Publications/AnnualReports/AnnualReport2019English.pdf | <p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="ms-rteThemeFontFace-1 ms-rteFontSize-2">The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released its Annual Report for the year 2019 indicating that total assets of the banking sector increased by 3.7 percent and amounted to RO 35.2 billion at the end of 2019, the total credit provided by the banking sector inched up by 3.1 percent to RO 25.8 billion, whereas aggregate deposits increased by 1.7 percent to RO 23.7 billion in 2019. The said Annual Report for the year 2019 gives an in-depth analysis of the Sultanate's economic conditions during 2019. </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="ms-rteThemeFontFace-1 ms-rteFontSize-2">The Annual Report stated that Omani economy witnessed a broad-based contraction during 2019 on the back of lower oil prices and increased uncertainty due to a slowdown in global economic activities. Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) during 2019 contracted by 4.3 percent as compared to growth in nominal terms of 12.3 percent in 2018. The nominal contraction was mainly attributed to a significant decline in the hydrocarbon sector which remains a significant contributor to the economy. At the same time, the non-hydrocarbon sector also contracted by 1.5 percent in 2019 due to changes across various activities, reflecting an environment of uncertainty and fiscal consolidation. </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="ms-rteThemeFontFace-1 ms-rteFontSize-2">Despite the contraction in some economic activities, a strong and resilient banking system continued to support financial stability. During 2019, CBO`s gross foreign assets registered a decline of 4.2 percent, while various monetary and banking indicators registered moderate growth. The total assets of the banking sector increased by 3.7 percent and amounted to RO 35.2 billion at the end of 2019. Total credit provided by the banking sector inched up by 3.1 percent to RO 25.8 billion, whereas aggregate deposits increased by 1.7 percent to RO 23.7 billion in 2019. </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="ms-rteThemeFontFace-1 ms-rteFontSize-2">The fiscal and external accounts recorded moderate improvement during 2019, largely reflecting the fiscal consolidation strategy pursued by the government. Notwithstanding a moderate improvement, the fiscal deficit remained elevated due to lower oil prices and expenditure rationalization constrained by socio-economic priorities. The overall fiscal balance improved marginally with the deficit falling to RO 2,623 million in 2019 from RO 2,650 million in 2018. The fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP, however, inched up marginally to 9.0 percent in 2019 from 8.7 percent in 2018. Whereas, the external sector recorded an improvement for the third year in a row, mainly driven by a decline in imports and workers' remittances. The improved trade surplus in conjunction with a decline in net outflows under services and drop in workers' remittances led to narrowing the current account deficit by 4.7 percent to RO 1,592 million during 2019 from RO 1,672 million in 2018. </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><span class="ms-rteThemeFontFace-1 ms-rteFontSize-2">The year 2020 is considered to be an unusual year for Oman as it has been affected by the implications of COVID-19 pandemic parallel to the decrease in oil prices. Though the global oil prices have since recovered from their low levels on the back of a pick-up in economic activity across several major economies and supply management strategy (OPEC+ agreement), they continue to remain lower than the comfortable threshold for Oman. The global economic outlook for 2020 continues to remain dim as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which has significantly affected economic, social and health activities. The second wave of the COVID-19 infections that hit Europe recently has further contributed to the uncertainty about global economic recovery. According to the latest projections by IMF, the global economy will contract by 4.9 percent in 2020 before start recovering in 2021. As the global economy will take time to return to normalcy, oil prices are expected to remain at a relatively low levels, affecting hydrocarbon sector activities in the Sultanate. Social distancing measures put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus will also weigh on the economic recovery process.</span></p> |
| Annual Report 2018 | | https://cbo.gov.om/report/AnnualReport/89 | 8/20/2019 8:00:00 PM | Annual Report 2018 | The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released today its Annual Report for 2018. | | | https://publishing.bnet.om/sites/assets/Documents/English/Publications/AnnualReports/AnnualReport2018Eng.pdf | <p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><div style="text-align:justify;">The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released today its Annual Report for 2018. The Report contains the overall macroeconomic assessment and near-term outlook, and analysis of the major sectors of the Omani economy during 2018. The Annual Report also contains the audited balance sheet of the CBO for 2018. </div> |
| Annual Report 2017 | | https://cbo.gov.om/report/AnnualReport/66 | 8/8/2018 8:00:00 PM | Annual Report 2017 | The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released today its Annual Report for 2017. The Report contains the overall macroeconomic assessment of Oman and analysis of the major sectors of the economy during 2017 | | | https://publishing.bnet.om/sites/assets/Documents/English/Publications/AnnualReports/AnnualReport2017eng.pdf | <p style="text-align:justify;">The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) released today its Annual Report for 2017. The Report contains the overall macroeconomic assessment of Oman and analysis of the major sectors of the economy during 2017 along with an assessment of the outlook for the economy in the near-term. The Annual Report also contains the audited balance sheet of the CBO for 2017. </p> |