Oman takes $3.55bn China loan to cover budget deficit

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.