Haitham bin Salim al Salmi, CEO of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), has welcomed the decision of Abraj Energy Services and its parent company, OQ Group, to list the former’s shares on the Omani bourse via an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Speaking during a media briefing on the Abraj IPO on Sunday, he said the IPO will help boost the local stock market, as well as attract new listings and investors to the Sultanate of Oman.
“Our goal is to find investment alternatives for investors, and this investment is very suitable for subscription, as it earmarks 15 per cent of the public offering for individuals, and it may be raised to 35 per cent if required in the future. Abraj Energy is also the first oil company to be listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, whose performance also mirrors the performance of the Omani economy,” he stated.
On Sunday, local drilling and oilfield services company Abraj Energy Services SAOG (under transformation) announced its intention to proceed with an IPO of up to 49 per cent of the total share capital and list its shares on the MSX with effect from March 2023.
To be offered in two tranches, Phase 1 representing the Institutional Tranche Offering covers a maximum of 85 per cent of the total offering size and is directed to qualified investors in Oman and international investors outside the United States. The offering for the retail tranche (Phase II) represents no less than 15 per cent of the total offering volume, and is directed to individual investors.
The CEO of MSX stressed that the bourse’s aspires to serve as a barometer of the Omani economy’s performance by coming up with an index that integrates all the economic sectors, whether logistics, tourism, and others.
Commenting on the suspension of withholding tax on dividends and interest, as decreed by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik recently, he said the move will benefit non-resident foreign investors. Moreover, securities listed on the MSX will become attractive to investors, particularly because the share prices of most listed companies are still trading at less than their fair value, in the view of many analysts and financial market experts, he noted.
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