Oman on Wednesday announced it has taken out a $3.55-billion loan from Chinese banks to cover its budget deficit for the current fiscal year.
The sultanate had originally planned to raise $2 billion on the Chinese market but raised the amount because of strong demand, the finance ministry said.
It said Oman had previously raised $5 billion with a bond issue and another $2 billion in sukuk, or Islamic bonds.
The loans aim to cover the deficit in the 2017 budget, deputy finance minister Nasser al-Jishmi was quoted by the official news agency ONA as saying.
Oman, a non-Opec producer which pumps a modest 1 million barrels per day, in January announced a deficit of 3 billion riyals ($7.7 billion) and vowed to press on with an austerity programme to combat the global slump in oil prices.
The loans aim to cover the deficit in the 2017 budget, deputy finance minister Nasser al-Jishmi was quoted by the official news agency ONA as saying.