#Oman's OQ to list up to 49% stake in methanol, ammonia and LPG arm | Reuters

Oman's OQ to list up to 49% stake in methanol, ammonia and LPG arm | Reuters

Oman's OQ Base Industries (OQBI), the methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arm of state-owned OQ, plans to list an up to 49% stake on the local stock exchange, it said on Monday, adding to a string of IPOs in the Gulf country.

The listing is part of a privatisation programme by state-owned energy group OQ, which is helping Oman - a small non-OPEC oil producer - to diversify its economy and cut its debt.

It would follow the flotation of OQ's exploration and production business (OQEP.OM), opens new tab, which raised about $2 billion last month in the country's biggest IPO ever.

OQBI is in talks with potential investors and working with bankers "to determine the fair price for the shares", CEO Khalid Khalfan Al Asmi told Reuters, without providing further details.

Based in Salalah, home to Oman's biggest port, OQBI operates three strategic divisions: methanol, ammonia and LPG products.

Methanol is a lower-carbon fuel while ammonia is mainly used in fertilisers and chemicals. LPG includes propane, butane, and cooking gas, which are used as fuel for cars, heating.

The company has a combined capacity of 1.8 million metric tons per annum of production (mtpa), with methanol accounting for around 1.1 mtpa of the total.

OQBI, which exports all of its produced methanol and ammonia and 87% of its LPG products, was leveraging its strategic location near major shipping lines, Al Asmi added.

It expects to pay a dividend of 32.7 million Omani riyals ($85 million) for 2024 and distribute a dividend at least 5% higher than this year's payout for 2025 and 2026.

The company posted revenue of more than $500 million for the 12 months (LTM) to the end of June 2024, it said.

OQBI said that all the proceeds from the offering will be distributed to the selling shareholders, with the subscription period expected to start this month. The shares are expected to begin trading in December.

Investcorp Veteran Is Said to Plan $1 Billion #AbuDhabi Fund - Bloomberg

Investcorp Veteran Is Said to Plan $1 Billion Abu Dhabi Fund - Bloomberg

The former co-chief executive officer of the Middle East’s top alternative asset manager is setting up a $1 billion permanent capital fund to buy stakes in financial services firms across the Global South, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hazem Ben-Gacem, who stepped down as co-chief executive officer of Investcorp Holdings in September, is in talks with investors across the US, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East to raise funds for BlueFive Capital, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

The Abu Dhabi-based vehicle will invest in insurance, private wealth and public-market brokerage firms, according to the people. The veteran deal-maker is leaning on a network of contacts that he built over three decades at Investcorp, before leaving as part of a sweeping reshuffle.

Ben-Gacem also plans to secure founding shareholders for BlueFive and potentially raise infrastructure and private equity funds in the future, the people said. That’s part of a five-year target of transforming BlueFive into a $25 billion entity, including assets of the firms it acquires, they said.

A spokesperson for Ben-Gacem declined to comment.

BlueFive will initially look to invest across Southeast Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council nations — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain — the people said. It will later look to invest in Latin America to create a financial services firm operating across the Global South, they said.

The fund is the latest to try and capitalize on rising investor interest in the Middle East and its growing political and trade ties across Latin America and Asia. As nations including Saudi Arabia and the UAE try to diversify their economies, they are increasingly hoping to boost trade and investment flows with other large developing nations like China and Brazil.

Investcorp established an investment vehicle backed by China Investment Corp. earlier this year. “That fund is coming along great, we are targeting about $750 million,” Chief Investment Officer Rishi Kapoor told Bloomberg TV last week, adding that the new entity has already inked three deals.

Ben-Gacem’s BlueFive will be based in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital that’s lured some of the biggest names in finance. The emirate’s deep pools of capital, including three sovereign wealth funds that control $1.5 trillion in assets, have been a key part of the draw for firms.

One of those state-backed funds, the $302 billion Mubadala Investment Co., is a shareholder in Investcorp, which also counts some of the Middle East’s wealthiest royals and business moguls among its backers.

At Investcorp, Harvard-educated Ben-Gacem oversaw investing and capital raising with Mideast sovereign and institutional funds. He also led the firm’s Europe private equity business and global technology investments, and helped drive a push into Asia as part of a plan to double assets under management to more than $100 billion over the next few years.

Top Grocer Lulu Boosts Size of #AbuDhabi IPO to $1.72 Billion - Bloomberg

Top Grocer Lulu Boosts Size of Abu Dhabi IPO to $1.72 Billion - Bloomberg

Lulu Retail Holdings Plc increased the number of shares on offer in its Abu Dhabi initial public offering, and now targets raising as much as $1.72 billion in the United Arab Emirates’ biggest listing of the year.

Lulu International Holdings now plans to offer a 30% stake in the firm, or 3.10 billion shares, it said in a statement Monday. The price range remains unchanged at 1.94 dirhams ($0.53) to 2.04 dirhams per share.

The deal is likely to price at the top end, Bloomberg News reported earlier on Monday. Lulu previously planned to sell 2.58 billion shares, or a 25% stake, and raise as much as $1.43 billion. The firm had demand for all shares on offer an hour after books opened on the deal last week.

The firm cited a “significant level of demand received from international, regional and local investors, and the inclusion of additional cornerstone investors to the IPO,” as the reason for the increase. Saudi Arabia’s Masarrah Investment Co. will buy shares worth 250 million dirhams, it said.

Institutional investors including Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company Co., Emirates International Investment Co., and Oman Investment Authority had already agreed to subscribe for shares worth 753 million dirhams.

Lulu operates one of the Middle East’s largest hypermarket chains. It reported a profit of $192 million last year, and aims to maintain a dividend payout ratio of 75%. Its net profit margins are expected to reach 5% over the medium term, up from 2.6% in 2023, its chief executive officer told Bloomberg News.

The company — founded by Indian entrepreneur Yusuff Ali — plans to open about 90 stores across the Gulf over the next five years, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE slated as its main expansion markets.

Final pricing is expected on Nov. 6, and the shares are scheduled to begin trading on Nov. 14. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Citigroup Inc., Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC Holdings Plc are the joint global coordinators on the sale. Moelis & Co. is an advisor on the deal.

The Middle East has seen a flurry of new share sales this year, which have raised just shy of $8 billion — with the UAE accounting for around 30% — despite the conflict in the region. Oman’s state energy company unveiled plans for an IPO of its methanol and liquefied petroleum gas unit on Monday, while the share sale of a Saudi financial services firm is also likely to price at the top end of a range, Bloomberg News reported.

LuLu’s IPO will be the biggest private sector listing in the region in 2024, and there are more in the pipeline. Delivery Hero SE’s Middle Eastern unit Talabat and IT services firm Alpha Data are preparing to list in the UAE before year end.

High-end supermarket chain Spinneys 1961 Holding Plc had raised $374 million from a Dubai listing in May, though the stock had a relatively muted debut and its shares still trade around the offer price.

Most Gulf markets in red on regional tensions | Reuters

Most Gulf markets in red on regional tensions | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday after a report suggesting Iran might be preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel unnerved investors.

The United States has warned Iran against launching another attack on Israel, adding Washington will not be able to restrain Israel if it attacks again, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a U.S. official and a former Israeli official.

Axios previously reported Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab eased 0.1%, with aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group (4143.SE), opens new tab falling 0.2% and ACWA Power Company (2082.SE), opens new tab dropping 2.2%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab dropped 0.8%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab losing 0.8% and Tecom Group (TECOM.DU), opens new tab retreating 2.2%.

The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab finished 0.2% lower.

Investors were also wary of the decision by OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, to delay plans to increase crude output by a month.

On Sunday, OPEC+ said it would extend its output cut of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for another month in December, with an increase already delayed from October because of falling prices and weak demand.

Lower prices and disruptions to crude exports impact fiscal balances in countries reliant on oil income.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI), opens new tab gained 0.4%, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab rising 0.9% and telecom firm Ooredoo (ORDS.QA), opens new tab advanced 1.8%.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has set Tuesday as the date for a referendum on constitutional amendments, including a proposal that would abandon an effort to introduce elections.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab lost 0.6%, hit by a 1% fall in Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab, despite the lender reporting a steep rise in third-quarter profit.