Oman may raise state expenditures this year if needed but the government does not plan to issue any sovereign bonds, Finance Minister Darwish al-Balushi said on Monday.

"If there is any need arising during the year, then of course we will (spend more)," he told reporters on the sidelines of an Islamic finance conference.

"As far as a sovereign bond is concerned, we do not have any plan for tapping the market, whether it is Islamic or conventional," he said.-Reuters