State-owned companies in Oman urged to curb spending

Muscat: The Ministry of Finance has issued a new circular to all government companies on rationalisation of operational and investment spending. The circular came in implementation of the Royal Orders on taking the necessary financial actions to address the impacts of the decrease in oil prices with the aim to reduce the deficit in the General Budget of the State (GBS).
According to the circular, the Royal Orders stipulates that all government companies should curb their operational and administrative expenditures approved for 2020 by 10 per cent (and to cease execution of new projects or capital expenditures for 2020), to cease all external training sessions, workshops and attending conferences and exhibitions and to reduce the funds allocated for official tasks by not less than 50 per cent.
The circular required the government companies to provide the Ministry of Finance with their revised budgets not later than end of April 2020.