Omani fund targets commercial assets after IPO

Christine Osborne/Alamy via Reuters

• Jabal Fund sold 74m shares last month
• Commercial real estate value rising
• MSX launching secondary market

Jabal Real Estate Investment Fund has targeted a swathe of commercial assets in Oman after officially listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange.

The company, which has a capital portfolio of OR17 million ($45 million), is considering an office building and a warehousing complex in the sultanate. 

No further details were given, although both properties boast 90 percent occupancy rates, according to a statement.

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Oman’s commercial real estate market is estimated to be worth $7.7 billion, and a report from the Hyderabad-based market research company Mordor Intelligence suggests it could reach $11.7 billion by 2029.

The fund’s initial public offering last month led to 74 million shares being sold, valued at 100 baisas each.

“The fund garnered substantial interest and was oversubscribed shortly after the subscription commenced,” said Majid al Lawati, a member of the fund management body.

The MSX is launching a new secondary financial market that will provide significant incentives to companies keen on listing, CEO Haitham Al Salmi revealed earlier this year.

• Oman’s non-oil trade drives GDP growth in first quarter
• Omani lower house approves income tax
• Bahrain tops dividend yields in mixed quarter for bourses

The bourse had previously announced a target of listing 35 state-owned enterprises by 2027.

“It might be more like 20 to 25, but the direction is clear,” said Hunaina Banatwala, vice-president for institutional sales at Muscat’s Ubhar Capital.

In March last year Abraj Energy Services, a drilling subsidiary of the national oil company, OQ, sold 49 percent of its shares in an IPO, raising $244 million in what was the country’s largest flotation since 2010. It received orders of $2 billion.

Later in the year OG Gas Networks raised a record $749 million from its listing on the MSX, passing the $748 million flotation of Oman Telecom in 2005.

Asyad Group, Oman’s state-backed national logistics company, announced this month plans to float its subsidiary, Asyad Shipping, by the end of the year.