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Oman wealth fund to launch IPOs in divestment push

By Pramod Kumar
Alamy via Reuters
Traders at the Oman stock exchange. The 2024-2028 divestment plan will float companies in the energy, services and logistics sectors

The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has framed a new five-year divestment plan, which includes initial public offerings (IPOs) in key sectors.

The 2024-2028 plan will float companies in the energy, services and logistics sectors, the fund said in a post on social messaging platform X.

In addition to the IPOs, the sovereign wealth fund will launch private placements, seeking strategic investors to support the agriculture, aquaculture and mining sectors.

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Specific details about the companies involved in the strategy were not disclosed.

This week, OQ, a state energy company owned by the OIA, announced plans to sell up to a quarter of its exploration and production arm, OQEP, through an IPO.

The fund launched its divestment strategy in 2022 to meet national strategic objectives, which include attracting foreign investment, deepening and expanding the Muscat Stock Exchange, deleveraging and repaying debts and reinvesting revenues from divested mature assets.

The strategy generated more than OR1 billion ($2.6 billion) from 12 divestments over 2022 and 2023, including three IPOs — Pearl REIF, Abraj Energy Services, and OQGN — and nine private placements across various sectors.

The OIA is updating its 2025-2029 divestment plan and establishing steering committees within different companies to ensure an effective divestment process.

Oman’s part-privatisation is part of a plan to enter into MSCI’s emerging market index. To be eligible, a country must have at least three stocks that meet certain size and stock liquidity thresholds.

In July, a report by the Kuwait-based Markaz said IPOs in the GCC raised $3.6 billion through 23 offerings in the first half of 2024, down from $5.3 billion raised through 21 offerings a year ago.  

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