DUBAI: Oman's Nawras, a subsidiary of Qatar Telecommunication is set to launch its initial public offering in September, a company official said on Tuesday. Nawras, which broke the monopoly of state-controlled Omantel in 2006, agreed to float 40 percent of its capital in February under the condition of its licence but the government granted the company an extension to September. "The official date for the IPO is September 1. The roadshow may be delayed by two weeks due to Ramadan," said the official who did not want to be identified. The roadshow for the share sale will be open to both local and international investors, said the official but declined to provide any details on the pricing. "The IPO will be for all nationalities. Obviously, Qatar is a major shareholder so it will be open there too," he said. Gulf IPO activity came to a halt in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis with the total value of IPOs in the Middle East and North Africa falling 83 percent, according to a report by consultancy Ernst & Young. Activity has been muted in 2010 too with most regions, except Saudi Arabia, seeing no public offerings in the first half. Only two companies were expected to float on the Omani stock market this year, the bourse regulator had said earlier in February. According to the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the Sultanate's regulator, companies planning to go for IPOs in Oman need to float 40 percent of their share capital as a minimum requirement. Nawras may decide to go for the offering in two tranches instead of a full 40 percent sale, the official said. "Maybe the government will say don't go in one tranche due to the current market conditions," he said. Morgan Stanley and Bank Muscat are the managers for the offering.
