Soon after closing the largest IPO in Oman’s history, state energy firm OQ is gearing up to float a minority share of another one of its subsidiaries. The company is planning to offer 49% of its shares in OQ Base Industries (OQBI), the subsidiary responsible for operating a 1mn t/y methanol plant, 365,000 t/y ammonia plant, and a 356,000 t/y LPG facility all in the southern Salalah Free Zone (see map, MEES, 8 November).
OQBI will kick off the subscription period later this month with the final listing scheduled for December. OQ’s recent flotation of 25% of its upstream arm OQ Exploration and Production raised a record $2bn (MEES, 18 October). The country’s sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Authority (OIA) is the ultimate shareholder in OQ and has been pursuing an ambitious divestment program to fund non-hydrocarbon sectors and bring foreign capital to Oman’s economy (MEES, 13 September). (CONTINUED - 148 WORDS)