Oman: new Sultan faces big economic challenges

The swift appointment of Haitham bin Tariq as the Sultan of Oman, following the death of Sultan Qaabos, has eased fears that the country would enter a prolonged period of political uncertainty. But the new leader faces a difficult task of securing financial support from its neighbours in order to maintain the dollar peg. At the very least fiscal austerity will need to continue and we think that it will be the Gulf’s worst performing economy over the next couple of years.