#Oman Fertilizer Firm Is Said to Prepare for Possible Muscat IPO - Bloomberg

Oman Fertilizer Firm Is Said to Prepare for Possible Muscat IPO - Bloomberg

Oman India Fertiliser Co SAOC has started early preparations for a potential listing in Muscat, marking a renewed push by the sultanate to privatize companies and deepen its capital markets.

OMIFCO, as the fertilizer producer is known, has sent out requests for proposals to banks for the listing it is considering, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Oman’s main energy firm OQ SAOC owns 50% of the venture, with the remainder equally split between IFFCO and Kribhco, two Indian agricultural cooperatives.

The plans are at an early stage and may not result in a transaction. It’s unclear which shareholders — if any — would pare their stakes in the offering.

A spokesperson for OQ declined to comment. Representatives for OMIFCO and the Indian cooperatives were not immediately available for comment.

A rally in Omani shares this summer has revived optimism after a string of lackluster listings cast doubt on the government’s ability to push ahead with a sweeping privatization program.

OQ has been central to that effort. The firm raised more than $2.5 billion across two listings last year, sales that catapulted IPO volumes in Muscat’s bourse above London’s.

OQ told Bloomberg News in December it was considering further listings, building on those deals to deepen the local market and broaden investor access to state assets.

OMIFCO was set up in 1994 between the governments of Oman and India and operates ammonia and urea plants in Oman, according to its website.