Omani energy firm OQ's shares drop in debut after $2 billion IPO

Oman's OQ Exploration & Production declined in its trading debut after a $2 billion listing that marked Muscat's biggest initial public offering on record.

Shares in the energy firm traded as low as 374 baisas ($0.96) per share on Monday, according to the Muscat Stock Exchange's website. That's down 4 per cent from the offer price of 390 baisas, which was at the top of the marketed range.

State energy firm OQ SAOC sold 2 billion shares, or a 25 per cent stake, in its exploration and production unit earlier this month. Six anchor investors snapped up a fifth of the offering, which attracted orders worth $5.4 billion in total.

While that indicated continued interest in Gulf deals despite escalating violence in the wider region, it was lower than the $10.4 billion worth of orders for OQ Gas Networks SAOG's $748.6 million IPO.

Oman is in the midst of an ambitious privatization drive with around 30 assets in the pipeline, and the momentum looks set to continue. The OQEP deal was the largest Gulf IPO since Adnoc Gas Plc's $2.5 billion share sale in 2023, and the fourth largest in the broader Europe, Middle East and Africa region so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

OQ is gearing up to list its methanol and liquefied petroleum gas unit in coming days, Bloomberg News has reported. Other deals in the pipeline include logistics company Asyad Group and Oman Electricity Transmission Co.

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