Oman Development Bank approves OMR40m worth of loans

Muscat: Oman Development Bank (ODB), the Sultanate’s leading bank in sustainable development project financing, approved as many as 4,444 development loans across different sectors and governorates in the first 10 months of the current year.
The total value of approved loans exceeded OMR39.50 million, according to a bank release.
The number of loans issued during the period from various branches of ODB stood at 4044, marking an increase of 18 per cent over figures for the same period last year, while the total loan amount increased by 22 per cent to reach OMR20.56 million. Also, there was a 4 per cent growth in the number of loans issued from the main branch of ODB, with 400 loans granted during the period whose aggregate value stood in excess of OMR18.94 million.
Region wise, Muscat received 25 per cent of the total loan amount issued during the period at OMR9.93 million. Meanwhile, Musandam saw a 124 per cent growth in the number of loans issued, whose total value surged ahead by 77 per cent compared with last year figures.
Interest-free loans accounted for 30 per cent of the total number of loans granted, with a value exceeding OMR11.69 million, while the total value of loans approved for large projects and their expansions reached OMR7.42 million. Such loans represented 19 per cent of the total number of loans. Working capital loans amounted to OMR9.20 million, with a 23 per cent share of the total number of loans approved by Oman Development Bank during the January-October period.
Further, the manufacturing sector topped the list with OMR21.196 million, and accounted for 54 per cent of the total value of loans. The agriculture and livestock sector came in at second, receiving 15 per cent percent of the total loans, valued at OMR5.976 million. The education sector received 115 loans, marking an increase of 64 per cent compared with last year, while total loan value increased 18 per cent to touch OMR1.899 million, compared with figures for the same period last year.
The number of loans allotted to the healthcare sector, on the other hand, declined to 12 loans worth OMR563,000, with a 58 per cent fall in value.
Oman Development Bank’s loan schemes reflect the bank’s strategy to encourage investment, diversify sources of income and achieve self-sufficiency in commodities and goods, apart from creating job opportunities for local people.