Oman banks on SMEs, tourism to revive economy

DUBAI, Oct 05 (Arab News): Oman is banking on its non-oil sectors, including small-to-medium enterprises and tourism, to revive the local economy, national daily Times of Oman has reported.
The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry has predicted a 2.5 per cent economic growth next year.
"We feel that by next year the Covid-19 pandemic will be over, and this means we could actually have some growth," Ahmed Al-Hooti, the Chamber's head of economic research, said.
The country will see an improvement in economic activity, especially for the hard-hit tourism sector, if the pandemic slows down next year, he said.
"If the coronavirus remains or comes back stronger, then we cannot do anything about it," Al-Hooti added.
But the official said they are observing a positive trend when it comes to local tourism.
"Omanis are actually travelling inside the country, and they are using the utilities inside the country, such as hotels and restaurants and such," he explained.
Al-Hooti further called for more support to the country's SME sector, which he said could play a vital role during the pandemic.
"We are now pushing the banking and financing sectors to pump some money and help the small and medium enterprises to do better than now," he said.
Meanwhile, Omani government data suggests that 77 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the country are mainly from three governorates - Muscat, North Batinah and South Batina.
Of the 101,270 confirmed cases of the disease in the country, 48,990 are in Muscat, corresponding to 48.3 per cent of all reported infections, the data showed.