Singapore's Sembcorp Industries Ltd said it is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of a joint venture company that owns and operates a $1 billion water and power project in Oman by the fourth quarter of this year.

"We confirm that there will be this eventual IPO of the Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water Company because it is one of the requirements stipulated in the project documents when we won the project," a Sembcorp Industries spokeswoman said.

"It will be by this year, either Q3 or Q4, but we haven't fixed when exactly," she said.

Sembcorp Utilities, a unit of Sembcorp Industries, has a 60 percent stake in the Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water Company. Oman Investment Corp owns 35 percent and Instrata Capital holds 5 percent.

The Times of Oman reported earlier that company officials have started discussions with the Capital Market Authority on the share issue. – Reuters