ODB issues loans worth OMR272m
MUSCAT: Oman Development Bank, the Sultanate’s leading development bank, has issued 33,643 loans worth of OMR272 million, as funding for various projects during 2009 to 2016.
In his presentation at the three-day regional seminar on Financing and Developing Small and Medium Enterprises, Eng. Ahmed Al Hajri, Corporate Bank Manager at ODB, said that the loans were issued to various projects across governorates and across diverse economic sectors that added value to the economy.
The seminar, organised by Oman Development Bank (ODB) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat, in association with the Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank (ADFMI) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB), discussed the challenges faced by the SME sector in the Islamic world.
Al Hajri said the ODB loans created as many as 79,991 job opportunities for nationals, thanks to the bank’s policy on employing Omani cadres in the projects it finances, and its commitment to the government’s Omanisation plans and encouraging entrepreneurship in the Sultanate.
Meanwhile, the number of microfinance loans during the period reached 32,849 valued at OMR160 million. “This reflects the Bank’s role in supporting micro-projects,” he said, adding, the bank financed 19 big projects worth of OMR18 million, 92 medium projects worth of OMR44 million and 404 small projects worth of OMR50 million.
He referred that the bank’s loan portfolio increased from OMR63 million in 2009 to OMR127 million in 2016, reflecting the bank’s commitment to boost development-finance in the Sultanate, and follow up with the governmental plans that aim at economic diversification in the Sultanate.
The bank’s arrears declined from 24 per cent in 2007 to less than 7 per cent in 2016, due to effective measures and policies. “This is a big success as far as managing small and medium facility loans are concerned. Usually bad debts are a cause of concern for development banks,” he said.
Al Hajiry emphasised that the bank follows cautious approach in giving loans, with a view to enhance the ratio of repayments, which are used to fund other projects.