Oman state oil giant follows Saudi Aramco lead with IPO sale announcement
Oman Oil will be the latest Gulf energy giant to sell shares to the public.
2 min read
Oman Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhi said the IPO could take place next year [Getty]
Oman announced on Wednesday that it will sell shares of a state-owned oil company, days after the first stage of Saudi Aramco's IPO was completed.
Speaking at a conference in Dubai, Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhi announced that a 20 to 25 percent stake of the energy giant will be opened up to the public by the end of next year.
He said that strategic partners would be invited to invest in the company, alongside the IPO, and said that financial advisers had already been appointed for the share sale.
Oman has been hit hard since oil prices crashed in 2014, running a $4 billion deficit between January and September this year.
Muscat plans to invest $20 billion in downstream projects.
It is looking for funds to help plug its deficit through asset sales, after already dipping into savings and enacting some controversial austerity measures.
The issue has seen Oman's credit rating drop to "junk status" by Standard & Poor.
Saudi Aramco plans to sell a five percent stake in the company, which is believed to be the biggest IPO in history.
The sale of 1.5 percent of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco has been twice oversubscribed, financial advisors for the IPO said Monday, but with a share sale price that still failed to meet the hoped target of Riyadh.
The world's most profitable company has seen institutional investors put in 144.1 billion riyals ($38.4 billion) worth of bids for its initial public offering, Reuters reported.
Speaking at a conference in Dubai, Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed al-Rumhi announced that a 20 to 25 percent stake of the energy giant will be opened up to the public by the end of next year.
He said that strategic partners would be invited to invest in the company, alongside the IPO, and said that financial advisers had already been appointed for the share sale.
Oman has been hit hard since oil prices crashed in 2014, running a $4 billion deficit between January and September this year.
|
|
Muscat plans to invest $20 billion in downstream projects.
It is looking for funds to help plug its deficit through asset sales, after already dipping into savings and enacting some controversial austerity measures.
The issue has seen Oman's credit rating drop to "junk status" by Standard & Poor.
Saudi Aramco plans to sell a five percent stake in the company, which is believed to be the biggest IPO in history.
The sale of 1.5 percent of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco has been twice oversubscribed, financial advisors for the IPO said Monday, but with a share sale price that still failed to meet the hoped target of Riyadh.
The world's most profitable company has seen institutional investors put in 144.1 billion riyals ($38.4 billion) worth of bids for its initial public offering, Reuters reported.
Ā
More In News
