CAIRO (Reuters) – Oman’s Asyad Shipping said on Tuesday that its forthcoming IPO will be backed by a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority and a local investment firm owned by the Omani government as anchor investors.
Asyad Shipping, which focuses on transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil and other products, said in a statement that it will offer 1.042 billion shares worth over 128 million rials ($332.48 million) from February 20-27.
It has set a price range of 117-123 baisas per share, according to the statement. A pricing at the top range would value Asyad Shipping, which is a subsidiary of Oman’s state-owned logistics firm Asyad Group, at 640.7 million riyals ($1.66 billion). Asyad Group is owned by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund.
QIA’s Falcon Investments and the Omani government’s Mars Development will subscribe for 20% and 10% of the offering respectively at 123 baisas per share.
Asyad said it expects to list its shares on the Muscat Stock Exchange “on or about 12 March”.
The listing of Asyad Shipping is part of Oman’s privatisation drive to attract foreign investors.
That strategy, along with fiscal reforms, has helped the Sultanate pay down debt and turn its large fiscal deficit of recent years into a surplus since 2022.
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Jan Harvey and Susan Fenton)
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