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Middle East and Central Asia > Oman

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Cover Policy Papers
Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations
International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
This paper provides an update on the status of the SDR trading market and operations. For more than three decades, SDRs have exclusively been exchanged for freely usable currencies in transactions by agreement, primarily through the Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs). A small fraction of transactions by agreement—sales or acquisitions of SDRs—has been arranged directly between parties. VTAs are bilateral arrangements between the Fund and SDR department participants or prescribed holders, in which the VTA participants agree to buy and sell SDRs within certain limits. The paper covers SDR trading operations during the period September 2023 to August 2024.
Keywords:
SDR trading capacity; SDR sale; SDR department participant; SDR amount; IMF SDR webpage; SDR interest rate; Currencies; Liquidity; Trading arrangements; Freely usable currencies; Middle East and Central Asia
Cover Policy Papers
2024 Staff Guidance Note On The IMF’s Engagement With Small Developing States
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
This guidance note provides operational guidance on the Fund’s engagement with small developing states (SDS). It highlights the unique economic characteristics and constraints facing SDS, notably in a more shock-prone world. Building on advice that applies to the full membership, the note explains how the characteristics of SDS shape Fund surveillance, financial support and program design, capacity development (CD), and collaboration with other institutions and donors. The note updates the previous version that was published in December 2017.
Keywords:
fund surveillance; financial support; transparency policy; lending to SDS circumstances; SDS wg; SDS authority; Climate change; Natural disasters; Climate finance; Global; Caribbean; Pacific Islands
Cover Policy Papers
Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations
International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
This paper provides an update on the status of the SDR trading market and operations. For more than three decades, SDRs have exclusively been exchanged for freely usable currencies in transactions by agreement, primarily through the Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs). Since the last annual update, SDR trading has continued to be dominated by SDR sales, although SDR acquisitions have increased significantly. From September 2022 to August 2023, SDR 17.9 billion were sold through the VTA market, of which SDR 8.9 billion were exchanged by 29 participants into currencies and SDR 8.0 billion were sold by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) for liquidity management and to facilitate the investment of SDR contributions. On the purchase side, the volume and number of transactions increased from the previous year as more participants needed to replenish their SDR holdings to cover charges to the IMF, reflecting the rising SDR interest rate. The VTAs continue to have ample capacities to meet the demand for exchange of SDRs into currencies.
Keywords:
SDR trading capacity; SDR sale; SDR department participant; VTA market; IMF-administered trust; SDR trade; Currencies; Liquidity; Trading arrangements; Freely usable currencies; Middle East and Central Asia
Cover IMF Working Papers
Cross-Border Risks of a Global Economy in Mid-Transition
Etienne Espagne
,
William Oman
,
Jean-François Mercure
,
Romain Svartzman
,
Ulrich Volz
,
Hector Pollitt
,
Gregor Semieniuk
, and
Emanuele Campiglio
This paper analyzes the cross-border risks that could result from a decarbonization of the world economy. We develop a typology of cross-border risks and their respective channels. Our qualitative and quantitative scenario analysis suggests that the mid-transition – a period during which fossil-fuel and low-carbon energy systems co-exist and transform at a rapid pace – could have profound stability and resilience implications for global trade and the international financial system.
Keywords:
Climate change; transition risks; cross-border risks; trade; international money and finance.; asset purchase; energy export; baseline export; baseline GDP; cost of capital; Non-renewable resources; Climate policy; Exports; Global
Cover Policy Papers
Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations
International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
This paper provides an update on the status of the SDR trading market and operations one year after the historic fourth general allocation of SDRs. In the reporting period, SDR trading has been dominated by SDR sales due to the 2021 SDR allocation. The VTAs continue to have ample capacities to meet the demand for exchange of SDRs into currencies. Staff has made significant progress in further strengthening the SDR trading market. Since the SDR allocation, eight new VTA members have been welcomed to the SDR trading market and many existing VTA members provided additional operational flexibilities. Discussions with a number of potential new entrants continue in the broader context of SDR channeling, which encourages contributors to have VTAs.
Keywords:
SDR sale; SDR trading market; SDR trading capacity; SDR amount; SDR market; VTA member; Trading arrangements; Freely usable currencies; Currencies; Middle East and Central Asia
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Oman: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Oman
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Sultan Haitham ascended to the throne in January 2020 and has committed to implementing strong fiscal and structural reforms to address longstanding vulnerabilities. In addition to persistent fiscal deficits arising from incomplete adjustment to lower oil prices since 2015, Oman faced twin shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices in 2020 that amplified fiscal and external vulnerabilities. The authorities moved rapidly to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections and provided broad-based policy measures to limit its impact on the economy. In addition, frontloaded fiscal consolidation has been implemented in the 2021 budget as part of the authorities’ Medium-Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP) which aims to eliminate the fiscal deficit over the medium term. Banks have high capital buffers and liquidity, but credit risk is a concern going forward. Structural reforms have been accelerated under Oman Vision 2040 to boost non-oil private sector growth and facilitate job creation.
Keywords:
staff appraisal; Omani authorities; government financing; hydrocarbon revenue; liability positions vis-à-vis nonresident; Oil prices; Fiscal stance; Global; Middle East
Cover Policy Papers
Gulf Cooperation Council: Trade and Foreign Investment—Keys to Diversification and Growth in the GCC
International Monetary Fund
Diversification of the GCC economies, supported by greater openness to trade and higher foreign investment, can have a large impact on growth. Such measures can support higher, sustained, and more inclusive growth by improving the allocation of resources across sectors and producers, creating jobs, triggering technology spillovers, promoting knowledge, creating a more competitive business environment, and enhancing productivity. The GCC countries are open to trade, but much less so to foreign direct investment (FDI). GCC foreign trade has been expanding robustly, but FDI inflows have stalled in recent years despite policy efforts taken to reduce administrative barriers and provide incentives to attract FDI. Tariffs are relatively low; however, a number of non-tariff barriers to trade persist and there are substantial restrictions on foreign ownership of businesses and real estate. The growth impact of closing export and FDI gaps could be significant. In most countries, the biggest boost to growth would come from closing the FDI gap—up to one percentage point increase in real non-oil per capita GDP growth. Closing export gaps could provide an additional growth dividend in the range of 0.2-0.5 percentage point. Boosting non-oil exports and attracting more FDI requires a supportive policy environment. Policy priorities are to upgrade human capital, increase productivity and competitiveness, improve the business climate, and reduce remaining barriers to foreign trade and investment. Specifically, continued reforms in the following areas will be important: • Human capital development: continue with investments made to raise educational quality to provide knowledge and skills upgrade. • Labor market reforms: aim to improve productivity and boost competitiveness of the non-oil economy. • Legal frameworks: ensure predictability and protection; efforts should include enhancing minority investor protection and dispute resolution; implementing anti-bribery and integrity measures. • Business climate reforms: focus on further liberalizing foreign ownership regulations and strengthening corporate governance; and on further reducing non-tariff trade barriers by streamlining and automating border procedures and streamlining administrative processes for issuing permits.
Keywords:
PP; GCC country; FDI inflow; GCC economy; GCC government; export gap; FDI gap; Foreign direct investment; Exports; Trade barriers; Export diversification; Business environment; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Oman: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module Volume I
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This paper discusses the findings and recommendations of the Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)—Data Module for Oman. It is observed that Oman has made significant progress in the compilation and dissemination of macroeconomic statistics since the 2004 ROSC mission. The main progress has been achieved in monetary statistics, price indices, and balance of payments, in particular the introduction of the producer price index, and improvements in data relevance, transparency, classification, and sectorization. The report also recognizes the need for Oman to move to higher data standards and identifies shortcomings in statistical practices and products that remain to be addressed.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; NCSI website ASAP.; time series; statistics; customs data; NCSI website; balance of payments; volume II; quarterly time series; Monetary statistics; Government finance statistics; Balance of payments statistics; Financial statements; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Desynchronized: The Comovement of Non-Hydrocarbon Business Cycles in the GCC
Mr. Serhan Cevik
This paper investigates the empirical characteristics of business cycles and the extent of cyclical comovement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, using various measures of synchronization for non-hydrocarbon GDP and constituents of aggregate demand during the period 1990-2010. By applying the Christiano-Fitzgerald asymmetric band-pass filter and a mean corrected concordance index, the paper identifies the degree of non-hydrocarbon business cycle synchronization?one of the main prerequisites for countries considering to establish a monetary union. The empirical results show low and heterogeneous synchronization in non-hydrocarbon business cycles across the GCC economies, and a decline in the degree of synchronicity in the 2000s, if Kuwait is excluded from the sample, partly because of divergent fiscal policies.
Keywords:
WP; GCC country; aggregate demand; Business cycles; business cycle synchronization; band-pass filter; concordance; GCC economy; Non-hydrocarbon business cycle frequency; business cycle analysis; pairwise correlation coefficients; business cycle desynchronization; Monetary unions; Private consumption; Government consumption; Public investment spending; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Arab Emirates: 2007 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the United Arab Emirates
International Monetary Fund
The 2007 Article IV Consultation on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) examines the near- and medium-term outlook, inflation, and fiscal policy. The rapid expansion is supported by an outward-oriented development strategy and sustained high oil prices. Reforms are under way to strengthen the prudential and regulatory oversight of the banking system and the capital markets; to open the banking sector to greater competition; and to strengthen the legal framework for the financial sector. Executive Directors agreed that the key challenges will be to ensure sustained noninflationary growth and further diversification of the economy.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; U.A.E.'s capital markets; staff appraisal; government; U.A.E. financial system; U.A.E. dirham; U.A.E. banking sector; U.A.E. government strategy; Commercial banks; Oil prices; Income; Foreign assets; Real effective exchange rates; Middle East; Global; East Asia; Central Asia