S&P affirms Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’

Muscat: International rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has reaffirmed Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ with a Stable Outlook.

This upgrade was affirmed by the agency citing the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce public debt and the continued improvement in the State’s fiscal performance.

The agency has also further confirmed that the Oman’s credit rating is expected to witness improvement if the government continues to manage the country’s public finances as planned, including increasing non-oil revenues and improving the efficiency of public spending.

Last September, S&P had upgraded the country’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings from 'BB+' to 'BBB-'.

The agency noted in its report that the Sultanate has made significant progress in recent years in addressing the structural challenges it faced, including the large deficit in the state’s general budget and balance of payments.

It further noted that these measures are expected to continue to boost gross domestic product (GDP) growth, supported by continued growth in non-oil GDP, in addition to continuing measures aimed at promoting the establishment and growth of companies and projects that support economic diversification activities and operations, in addition to initiatives to develop the capital market sector.

S&P further expected Oman’s inflation rates to remain at moderate levels, averaging about 1.5% annually during the period 2025-2028, after reaching about 1% in 2024.