Main investors committed to subscribing to OQEP shares worth OMR156 million

Muscat: OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) Company received from main investors a final commitment for subscription to as much as OMR156 million, on the upper limit of a price range of 390 baisas per share.

Azzan Mohammed Al Abdullatif, Deputy Head of Public Subscriptions Implementation at OQ Group, said that 20 percent of the volume of offering in OQ Exploration and Production Company was allocated to major investors from Omani institutions, which included ones with a high local reputation.

These establishments range from government and private investment funds to entities from the banking sector, said Al Abdullatif. He noted that these major investors are all local and that this segment includes the Protection Fund as a major investor, with a share of more than 8 percent of the offering.

Al Abdullatif told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the segment of primary investors in this offering is smaller, compared to previous subscriptions as a percentage of the total offering. The volume of the individual segment has been increased because it is the primary target of such subscriptions, he added.

More than 40 percent of the shares are offered for subscription, to the tune of RO 312 million, said Al Abdullatif, adding that demand is expected to be strong and that a large number of investors from the Sultanate of Oman will subscribe. This will in turn enhance the circulation of capital in the country and boost the activity of the Muscat Stock Exchange, he observed.

Al Abdullatif stressed that the offering structure and division were designed to allocate 40 percent to the Individuals Category, which is further divided into two equal tranches (20 percent for each tranche): The “Small Individual Investors Tranche/portion” (to cover requests starting from 500 shares up to 28,500 shares) and the “Large Individual Investors Tranche” (to accommodate cover all requests from individual investors, starting from 28,600 shares, without specifying a maximum subscription ceiling).

“This restructuring aims to provide fair opportunities for all segments of society, benefit from previous subscriptions, give citizens an advantage and encourage them to benefit from a 10 percent discount on the final price, equivalent to 351 baisas,” Al Abdullatif said.