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$16b Total Assets of Oman’s Islamic Banking Sector

The headquarters of the Central Bank of Oman in the capital, Muscat. (Getty Images)
The headquarters of the Central Bank of Oman in the capital, Muscat. (Getty Images)
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$16b Total Assets of Oman’s Islamic Banking Sector

The headquarters of the Central Bank of Oman in the capital, Muscat. (Getty Images)
The headquarters of the Central Bank of Oman in the capital, Muscat. (Getty Images)

The total assets of Oman’s Islamic banking sector, including Islamic banks and windows operating in the sultanate, jumped by 9.1 percent year-on-year to reach at RO6.4 billion ($16.6 billion) by late September 2022.

Oman’s Islamic banking assets now account for 16.2 percent of the country’s total banking system assets, according to latest data released by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

According to Oman’s official news agency ONA, the total balance of financing granted by the sector also increased by 11.8 percent to about RO5.3 billion ($13.7 billion).

The total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also increased by 12.5 percent to RO4.8 billion ($12.5 billion) in September.

Meanwhile, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) upgraded the country’s credit rating from “BB-”to “BB”, with stable future outlook due to its improved fiscal performance.

The rating agency underlined in its credit rating report on Saturday the sultanate’s improved performance in the balance of payments, measures undertaken by the government within the Medium Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP) and a rise in oil prices as factors projecting positive outlook, coupled with the improvement in the net asset position in 2023.

It expected a decline in the public debt rate vis-à-vis the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 61% in 2021 to 44% in 2022.

The agency also projected a rise in Oman’s revenues over the next two years, along with sustained fiscal surplus in its budget for 2024, which will enhance levels of the country’s financial reserves and achieve a 5.8% financial surplus over the GDP in 2022.

It expected the sultanate’s current account to post a 5.2% surplus vis-à-vis the GDP, compared to deficits of 4.9% and 16.2% in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

It said that economic growth in Oman will be supplemented by a projected rise in hydrocarbon production, improved investment rates and government measures directed at supporting society and the private sector.

S&P further expected Oman’s GDP to pick up by about 4% in 2022 and 3% in 2023.

Meanwhile, non-oil activities are scheduled to be the prime motivator of growth over the coming years, according to S&P, which projects a private sector growth of 1.8% in 2022 and 2.5% over the period 2024-2025.

The international agency commended the government’s tangible efforts in consolidating the principle of transparency and disclosure of financial statements and GDP data through the publication of regular circulars.

S&P noted that Oman’s credit rating may persist in its upward trend, provided measures to enhance the State’s financial position are maintained by channeling more financial surplus into the public debt reduction course and augmenting fiscal flexibility to help address any unexpected crises or upheavals.

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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.