Oman: Falcon Insurance to go public
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2015
Falcon Insurance plans to float an initial public offering on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), said its parent company Al Anwar Holding in a statement to the stock exchange. The float is subject to approval by regulators and shareholders.
IPO details such as the volume of the offer, price and timing will be finalised and announced after approval has been received, said Al Anwar. The company holds a 51% stake in Falcon Insurance.
Apart from Falcon, other national insurance firms that are expected to float shares on the local bourse include Al Ahlia Insurance, Muscat Insurance, Muscat Life Insurance, National Life Insurance, Oman & Qatar Insurance and Vision Insurance, said media reports. The Sultanate’s only reinsurance firm, Oman Reinsurance Company, is also expected to enter the bourse.
The move is in line with the announcement by Capital Market Authority (CMA) last year, asking national insurance companies to go public within three years.
In its efforts to encourage more listings by local firms, many of them family-owned businesses, the CMA has amended the Commercial Companies Law to make it easier to allow private owners to hold onto a larger share of their company while still taking part in the formal capital market.