Oman GDP grew about 8.3% in 2013 - min

Oman's gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew an estimated 8.3 percent last year, faster than the government's target of 7 percent, Finance Minister Darwish al-Balushi said on Wednesday.

Balushi, speaking at a news conference on the 2013 budget, said heavy government spending had boosted growth.

The rate was considerably higher than most economists had predicted; the International Monetary Fund, for example, forecast in October that Oman would grow 5.0 percent in 2012.

Oman does not regularly release real GDP data. In 2011 its economy grew an estimated 5.4 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund.