A wave of initial public offerings (IPOs), previously concentrated in major Middle Eastern economies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has now swept across Oman. By data Bloomberg, the sultanate is emerging as a new IPO hub and is beginning to compete seriously with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh, rapidly closing the gap in attracting investment.
One of the key developments in this area was the IPO of Oman’s state energy company, OQ SAOC. On October 17, the company sold 25% of its oil and gas exploration and production division, OQ Exploration & Production, raising about $2 billion. This was the largest IPO in the Gulf region and the fourth largest in EMEA in 2024. Thus, Oman narrowed the gap with its competitors: since the beginning of the year, the country attracted $2.08 billion, the UAE — $2.43 billion, and Saudi Arabia — $3.09 billion.
This was preceded by successful IPOs in 2023, including Abraj Energy Services ($244m) and OQ Gas Networks ($771m).
Oman is actively promoting its privatization program, and it will only intensify in the coming months. Oman’s sovereign fund plans to IPO about 30 assets, including such large companies as Asyad Group (worth about $4 billion) and the state-owned energy company.
As the Middle East’s largest non-OPEC oil producer, Oman expects the sale of state assets to boost development in key sectors such as energy, transport and tourism. Investor interest in Oman’s IPO is underpinned by high dividend payouts, making the country an attractive center for raising capital.
