Oman Plans $1 Billion Infrastructure Fund - Bloomberg

Oman Plans $1 Billion Infrastructure Fund - Bloomberg:

"Oman’s sovereign wealth fund is planning to start a $1 billion infrastructure fund to boost investment in projects including the Gulf state’s road, transport and energy systems, according to people familiar with the matter.

The State General Reserve Fund is talking to international banks and potential investors for the financing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The projects in which the funds will be deployed have not been finalized, they said. Repeated calls to the fund’s offices in Muscat and the Ministry of Finance weren’t answered, while an email sent to an address on the fund’s website bounced back.

The country is turning to public-private partnerships to plug gaps in its infrastructure program, which is being hindered by tighter government finances. Oman, like other states in the oil-rich six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, has been battered by a plunge in crude prices since mid-2014 that has caused budget deficits to swell and borrowing to surge. The nation’s bonds are rated junk by S&P Global Ratings and have among the lowest investment grades from Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings."



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