Oman has been tapping new and expanded sources of finance in a bid to plug its 2017 deficit. It hit the market for a $5bn conventional bond in March (MEES, 10 March) and raised $2bn from its first ever international Sukuk in late May (MEES, 9 June).
This seemed more-or-less sufficient to cover the OR3bn deficit ($7.8bn at a fixed OR1=$2.60) forecast in Oman’s 2017 budget (MEES, 6 January). But Muscat recently returned to the market, tapping key crude buyer China for $3.55bn (MEES, 4 August), bringing 2017 fundraising to $10.55bn. (CONTINUED - 992 WORDS)
