Finance Oman’s total foreign assets rise 27% to $18bn By Pramod Kumar October 3, 2023, 5:32 AM Oman News Agency Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows stood at OMR18.17 billion, up 6.5% year on year Total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) increased 27.4 percent year on year to OMR 6.86 billion ($17.82 billion) by the end of July 2023. Local liquidity stood at OMR21.36 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent year on year, state-owned Oman News Agency reported, citing National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI). S&P upgrades Oman’s credit rating on lower debt risk Oman GDP falls after slowdown in oil activities Strong demand for Oman’s biggest IPO in two decades Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows – Islamic banking services offered by conventional banks – stood at OMR18.17 billion, up 6.5 percent annually. In addition, total loans and financing in commercial banks and Islamic windows grew 8.7 percent yearly to OMR30.27 billion. Oman’s GDP declined by 9.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, largely as a result of a slowdown in oil-related activities. The sultanate’s GDP was OMR10.1 billion ($26.24 billion) in the second quarter, compared with OMR11.1 billion for the same period last year, NCSI said. Throughout the second quarter the value of oil-related activities fell from OMR4.46 billion a year ago to OMR3.64 billion – an 18.3 percent drop.