Sembcorp Salalah Power & Water Company SAOG, a leading power and water company in Oman, has announced the closure of its initial public offering (IPO) of 35 per cent of the total share capital.

The issue of 33,410,019 existing ordinary shares, at a price of RO1.590 ($4.11) per share was opened for subscription on August 28 and closed on September 26.

The offering, which raised RO53 million, making it the largest in Oman this year as well as one of the largest in the region, was comfortably oversubscribed and attracted strong levels of demand from both retail and institutional investors across Oman, the GCC and Europe.

This implies an opening market capitalisation of RO152 million. Trading of the company’s shares is set to commence on the Muscat Securities Market on or around October 10.

HSBC Bank Oman SAOG acted as issue manager for the offering. HSBC Bank Middle East acted as sole global coordinator and bookrunner.

Lim Yeow Keong, chief executive officer of Sembcorp Salalah, said: “We are delighted by the response we have received from such a wide range of investors in Oman and across the region. The overwhelming support and warm welcome we have received reflects the confidence in Sembcorp Salalah’s stable business model and recognises this unique opportunity to invest in an established operator with strong government support and strong predictability of cash flows.”

“We are thrilled to welcome our new investors to the Sembcorp Salalah shareholder register and we look forward to delivering on our commitment to meet the Dhofar region’s growing and long-term power and water demand,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service