Oman Power Firms To Start Trading Monday After IPOs Attract Demand

Shares in Omani power firms Al Suwadi Power Co and Al Batinah Power Co begin trading on Monday after their initial public offerings (IPOs) were both multiple-times oversubscribed by investors.

The two electricity-generating companies – which had been owned by a consortium of international and local investors – each offered a 35 per cent stake to the public in offerings worth a combined OMR62.7 million ($162.9 million).

However, they received total orders worth OMR668.1 million during the offer period, which ran from May 11 to June 9, a statement from the firms said on Sunday.

Al Suwadi Power Co was raising OMR32.5 million through the sale of 250 million shares priced at OMR0.13 each, and achieved subscriptions worth 10.5-times the target amount.

Al Batinah Power Co’s offering of 236 million shares at OMR0.128 each was aimed at generating OMR30.21 million, and was covered 5.56-times.

“The long-term agreements with the government of Oman that underpin the profitability of both companies, the strength of the project partners and the attractive pricing of the IPOs proved a hugely successful combination,” said Przemek Lupa, chief executive of Al Suwadi Power.

Al Suwadi Power Co runs a 750 megawatt plant in Barka, north of the capital Muscat. Al Batinah Power Co operates a plant of the same size in the northern city of Sohar.

Under Omani regulations, power plants majority-owned by foreign investors must conduct an IPO within five years of commencing operations. Both started up in April 2012.

Both firms were owned by a consortium comprising GDF Suez with 46 per cent, local firm Suhail Bahwan Group with 22 per cent, Japan’s Sojitz Corp and Shikoku Electric Power Co, each with 11 per cent, and Oman’s state pension fund with 10 per cent.