Minerals Development Oman says IPO still in pipeline

Minerals Development Oman (MDO), the sultanate’s new mining investment and development flagship, has revealed that its planned initial public offering (IPO) is still in the works, a report said. The public listing of the company, originally slated before the end of 2016, is still in the pipeline, Nasser Saif al Muqbali, deputy chief executive officer at MDO, was quoted as saying in an Oman Daily Observer report. Al Muqbali said that the proposed IPO is still on the table, and the BankMuscat have been chosen as the financial adviser for the IPO, while marketing and legal advisers have been appointed as well. He added that the MDO is still committed to go for the IPO be it as MDO Holding or as a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The official made the comments after signing a major partnership agreement targeting the development of prodigious copper-gold reserves in Block 10 in the Wilayat of Yanqul in the northwest of the Sultanate. MDO was set up in 2016 with a capital of RO100 million ($259.74 million) to stimulate investment in the nation’s potentially promising mining and mineral processing sector as part of the government’s broader push to diversify the national economy. A total of 60 per cent of the company’s equity is owned by four government entities: State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), Oman Investment Fund (OIF), Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Oman National Investments Development Company (TANMIA). The remaining 40 per cent is proposed to be offered for public subscription via an IPO floated on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), added the report