Finance & Capital Market

Oman public sector firms asked to cut spending

Oman’s Ministry of Finance has issued a circular directing all state-owned companies to implement recent Royal directives on the need for urgent fiscal steps to alleviate the impact of slumping oil prices on Oman’s finances, said a report.
 
The circular calls on state-owned enterprises to take measures to cut spending, boost revenue earnings, and thereby reduce the budget deficit, said the Oman Daily Observer report.
 
These goals should be achieved by:
* Reducing the operating and administrative expenditure approved for the financial year 2020 by 10 percent; 
* Suspending the implementation of new projects, as well as capital expenditures for the year pending the re-evaluation of the projects in question in the next fiscal year; 
* Suspending all external training programmes and participation in workshops, conferences and exhibitions; and 
* Slashing allocations towards official missions by no less than 50 percent.
 
In its circular, the Ministry of Finance stressed the need for all state-owned companies to submit revised operating budgets before the end of April incorporating the spending cuts enumerated, said the report.