Middle East News - Oman: Oman Qatar Insurance plans IPO by end-2017
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2016
Oman Qatar Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Group, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Muscat Securities Market by the end of 2017, said CEO Ewen McRobbie.
The company plans to offer 40% of its paid up capital to the investing public through the issue, reported the Times of Oman.
The company’s plan is in line with requirements by Oman’s regulatory authorities. In 2014, Capital Market Authority (CMA) issued a notice requiring local insurers to go public within three years, in line with an amendment in the Insurance Companies Law. Also, Oman Qatar Insurance has to raise its paid-up capital to OMR10 million (US$26 million) from OMR5 million at present, in line with the CMA stipulation on minimum capital.
“We will float the IPO by the end of next year. We have a roadmap that is going to the board at its next meeting. An extraordinary general meeting will be convened to finalise all of these plans,” Mr Ewen McRobbie, CEO of Oman Qatar Insurance, told the newspaper.
There are 22 insurance companies operating in Oman, of which 11 are locally incorporated and 11 others are branch operations of foreign firms. Four companies — Dhofar Insurance, Oman United Insurance, Al Madina Takaful and Takaful Oman — are currently listed.
OMR1 = US$2.60