Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Oman Development Bank (ODB) financed 53,482 projects with a total value of OMR424.68 million from January 1997 till the end of June 2016, representing a staggering growth rate of 749 per cent.
While the annual rate of the projects funded by ODB is estimated to be 2,674 projects, the annual average value of funds invested is OMR21.23 million representing an annual growth of 39 per cent.
Oman Development Bank provides finance for a variety of projects in many value-added productive sectors that ensure food security and help increase economic growth in sectors, such as fisheries, agriculture, industry, tourism, education, health and tourism.
The great efforts made by ODB throughout these years have been supported and contributed to by the government’s attitude and the five-year plans aimed at achieving economic diversification.
Productive sectors
The industrial sector is ranked first among all economic sectors in terms of the number of the projects funded by ODB during the period from 1997 to 2016, seizing 25.5 per cent of the total of 27,112 projects, representing about 27 per cent of the total investment value that amounted to OMR102.90 millio; followed by the services sectors — education, health and tourism — by 24.7 per cent of the total value (or OMR93,948,486), while it ranked fourth in terms of the total number by 24.57 per cent (or 26,119 projects).
The fisheries sector came second in terms of total number of loans offered by ODB, which are estimated at 26,616, representing 25.04 per cent of the investment, followed by the agriculture sector that secured 24.8 per cent of the projects, amounting OMR92.05 million in terms of total worth.
Strong start
In 1998, ODB saw the biggest increase in the percentage of approved loans that was pegged at 376 per cent. During that year ODB also pumped OMR6.15 million into 644 projects. In 2000, ODB approved a total of 780 loans, worth of OMR8.33 million, representing a growth rate of 27 per cent on an annual basis.
ODB achieved its second biggest growth in loans approved for clients in 2007; with the increase estimated to be 177.7 per cent, representing 4,502 projects worth of OMR30.91 million.
By the end of 2013, the amount approved by ODB to its clients throughout the year exceeded OMR50 million for the first time; covering 5,215 projects.
Although the number of projects financed by ODB and their total worth dipped slightly in 2015 to 4,426 projects worth of OMR46.10 million, the first half of the current year has established a good record with about OMR46 million worth of projects or 4,426 projects approved by ODB.
