AGSIW Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young commented on Oman’s fiscal management for Debtwire: “For Oman, the current ability to borrow and issue debt is an ongoing necessity. Any disruption to that credit line will make fiscal governance very difficult.”

Speaking with MEES, Young also commented on Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering plans: “Investors will be attracted to this offering if they feel oil is a safe investment, and if they feel that the management of Aramco remains prudent and cautious, as it has been for many years.” She continued, “The Saudi government will continue to prize and carefully guard this asset. Its management of Aramco and its partial IPO will become indicators of economic governance; that is to say, the state’s ability to manage sovereign debt, privatizations of many state entities, and the regulation of industry. Investors will be deterred by any signals of policy volatility or mismanagement of state resources.”