The total bank credit of the commercial banks in the Sultanate by the end of December 2015 amounted to about RO18,316.4 million compared to RO16,898.4 million during the same period of 2014, an increase of 8.4 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 RO7,333.9 million, 40 per cent of the total bank credit to commercial banks. The construction sector obtained RO2,89.4 million, with 11.4 per cent. The service sector obtained RO1,500.8 million, with 8.2 per cent, followed by the industrial sector at RO1,458.1 million, with 8 per cent.
The bulletin pointed out that the import sector got RO1,78.6 million, with 5.9 per cent. Transport and Communications sector got RO999.9 million, with 5.5 percent. The financial institutions sector got RO920.7 million, with 5 per cent. The mining sector (mining and quarrying) got RO808.4 million, with 4.4 percent.
The electricity, gas and water sector got RO758.4 million, with 4.1 per cent.
The wholesale and retail trade sector got RO631.9 million, with 3.5 per cent, followed by agriculture and related activities sector, which got RO57.6 million, with 0.3 per cent . The export sector got RO13.8 million, with 0.1 per cent, followed by the government sector with RO12.1 million, by 0.1 percent.
The bulletin pointed out that the size of the bank credit to commercial banks in the Sultanate of other economic activities amounted by the end of December 2015 to about RO460.3 million, by 2 per cent, while bank credit size for non-residents amounted to RO192.5 million, by 1.1 per cent of the total volume of bank credit.