Bank credit volume exceeds RO20bn

Muscat - The total bank credit of commercial banks in the sultanate by the end of June 2017 stood at RO20,108.6mn compared to RO19,348.1mn during the same period of 2016, comprising an increase of 3.9 per cent.

The Statistical Quarterly Bulletin issued by the Research and Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said that the personal loans sector obtained RO8,058.9mn, 40.1 per cent of the total bank credit to commercial banks. The construction sector obtained RO2,197.3mn with 10.9 per cent. The service sector obtained RO1,776.2mn, with 8.8 per cent, followed by the industrial sector at RO1,394.7mn, with 6.9 per cent.

The bulletin pointed out that the import sector got RO1,128.9mn, with 5.6 per cent. Electricity, gas and water got RO1,057.3mn, comprising 5.3 per cent of the total credit volume.

The financial institutions sector got RO1,041.5mn, with 5.2 per cent. The mining sector (mining and quarrying) got RO942.8mn, with 4.7 per cent.

Transport and Communications sector got RO796.1mn, with 4 per cent, followed by the wholesale and retail trade sector, which got RO787.2mn, with 3.9 per cent.

The agriculture and related activities sector got RO57.1mn, with 0.3 per cent. The export sector got RO15.2mn, with 0.1 per cent, followed by the government sector with RO3.7mn, by 0.02 per cent of the total loans that are granted to the economic sectors.

The bulletin pointed out that the size of the bank credit of commercial banks in the sultanate for other economic activities amounted to about RO600.8mn, by 3 per cent, while bank credit size for non-residents amounted to RO250.5mn, by 1.2 per cent of the total volume of bank credit by the end of June 2017.