Muscat: Anchor investors will be able to subscribe up to RO 156 million in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of OQ Exploration and Production Company (OQEP) based on the maximum price range of 390 baisas per share, the company announced on Monday.
Anchor investors are usually large and established institutional investors like insurance companies, mutual funds, and pension funds, among others, who can commit a significant amount of funds in the initial stage of an IPO.
Azzan al Abdullatif, vice president, of IPO Execution at OQ, said 20 percent of the offering volume in OQEP was allocated to main investors, including high-scale public and private investment funds as well as banking sector institutions.
“Key investors are all local with the Social Protection Fund serving as a main investor with a percentage of more than eight percent of the offering”, he commented.
He said that the segment of main investors in this offering is smaller compared to previous subscriptions as a percentage of the total offering. In contrast, the size of the individual segment was increased because it is the main target of such subscriptions.
He added that 40 percent of the shares are offered for subscription, equivalent to RO312 million, for institutions, whether local or non-local. It is hoped that the turnout will be strong and that a large number of investors from the Sultanate of Oman will subscribe to it, which will enhance the circulation of capital in the country and invest it locally, which will enhance the activity of the Muscat Stock Exchange.
He pointed out that the advantages of the offering of OQ Exploration and Production Company have never been available to investors, whether individuals or institutions, and therefore the opportunity is available to citizens wishing to invest and participate in owning natural resources assets in the Sultanate of Oman. He stressed that the structure and division of the offering have been designed to allocate 40 percent of the offering to the individual's category, as the individual's category is divided into two equal tranches (20 percent for each tranche).
The first tranche is called the "Small Individual Investors Tranche" and includes applications starting from 500 shares up to 28,500 shares.
The second tranche is the tranche of major individual investors and includes all requests from individual investors starting from 28,600 shares without specifying a maximum subscription ceiling.
He explained that this structure aims to provide fair opportunities for all segments of society and benefit from previous subscriptions giving citizens an advantage and encouraging them to invest with a discount of 10 percent on the final price, equivalent to 351 baisas, as it is the maximum price in the price range.
Azan Al-Abdul Latif said that OQ Exploration and Production is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the Sultanate of Oman and its production in 2023 constituted about 14 percent of the Sultanate of Oman's production of oil, gas, and condensates, and is among the most important companies that have oil and gas reserves.
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