The state-owned energy company Oman Electricity Transmission Co. (OETC) has suspended plans for an IPO and intends to raise funds through the sale of bonds. This is reported by foreign media.
The OETC management plans to hold talks with American and British investors and has engaged Citigroup Inc. and Oman Investment Bank to assess investor interest in the proposed issue of dollar-denominated bonds worth $1 billion in May 2025 and $500 million in 2027.
Final decisions on the size, timing and structure of the debt sale have not yet been made.
Plans to enter international debt capital markets emerged after the decision of OETC shareholders to postpone the IPO, in particular, the Oman Investment Authority wealth fund, as the majority shareholder of OETC, held talks with Lazard Inc. regarding the proposed listing.
Chinese State Grid Corp. It owns 49% of OETC shares, which it acquired in 2019 for $2 billion as part of the Omani government's program to privatize 30 companies to finance the transition to clean energy and expand capital markets.
Asset privatization in Oman lags behind regional partners, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are actively developing domestic stock markets to attract capital and diversify the economy in order to abandon raw materials as the main factor of the economy.
Oman Electricity Transmission is the operator of the main transmission network, through which electricity is transmitted from generating stations to load distribution centers in all regions of Oman. The headquarters is located in Muscat (Oman).
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