Oman receives RO1.9bn FDI in 2019

Published 27 Dec,2020 via Muscat Daily - Oman received a total foreign direct investment (FDI) of RO1.9bn in 2019, according to a new report released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The report stated that the total volume of FDI stock in the sultanate till the end of 2019 reached to RO14.6bn as compared to RO12.7bn in the end of the previous year.

NCSI has released the fourth issue of the Economic Outlook of Oman, which highlights the sultanate’s economic performance during 2019 and the prospective global economic developments.

The report highlighted the sultanate’s economic performance in 2019. Oman’s GDP at current prices dropped by 4.3 per cent to RO29.3bn in 2019 compared to RO30.7bn recorded in 2018. The country’s oil GDP decreased by 8.4 per cent in 2019, while non-oil GDP remained 1.5 per cent lower against the previous year.

The NCSI report showed that the deficit in the sultanate’s general budget reached RO2.62bn last year, reflecting a decline in the total revenue by 3.3 per cent. It stated that the domestic liquidity grew by 2 per cent in 2019 to RO17.8bn compared to RO17.4bn in 2018.

The Economic Outlook of Oman report also showed that the total deposits in the sultanate’s commercial banks increased 0.3 per cent in 2019, reaching RO20.1bn compared to RO20bn in the previous year.

The report showed that the tourism sector’s share in Oman’s GDP increased from 2.2 per cent in 2018 to 2.5 per cent in 2019. The direct value added of the tourism sector increased by 4.1 per cent in 2019 to RO717.9mn from RO689.5mn in 2018.

The total volume of trade exchange in the sultanate decreased by 7.8 per cent to RO23.9bn in 2019 compared to RO26bn in 2018. This decrease was due to a drop in the value of commodity imports by 9.5 per cent and the commodity exports which declined by 7.2 per cent in 2019, compared to 2018. The sultanate’s trade balance in 2019 recorded a surplus of RO5.9bn, down by 4.7 per cent from the surplus recorded in 2018.

The NCSI report also pointed out that the labour market and employment recorded a decline by 2.5 per cent in 2019, while the total number of workers in the sultanate in 2019 reached 2.16mn workers compared to about 2.21mn workers in 2018. The percentage of workers in the private and family sector reached 89 per cent of the total number of workers, compared to only 11 per cent in the government sector.

The Economic Outlook of Oman report pointed out that, according to the expectations of the Arab Monetary Fund, the sultanate’s GDP growth may decrease by 3.8 per cent this year due to the repercussions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and weak oil prices.

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