Oman’s OQ Base Industries achieved coverage at the top of the range on the institutional leg of its up to OR188.2m (US$488.8m) IPO soon after books opened on Sunday.

Parent OQ is offering nearly 1.7bn shares at OR0.106–OR0.111, and pricing at the top would give a OR384m market capitalisation off a 49% free-float.

The institutional tranche covers just 30% of the deal and is equally divided between locals and internationals. Retail is offered 40% and the remaining 30% is covered by cornerstones Qatar Investment Authority subsidiary Falcon Investments, Gulf Investment Corporation, PIF-owned Saudi Omani Investment Company and Oman's Social Protection Fund.

Given the Sunday launch, day one coverage was led by local institutions and a banker involved said international orders had started to come in on Monday.

International investors are said to have been reassured by changes to how the deal will be executed compared to OQ's October float of OQ Exploration and Production. Institutional orders will be allocated on a discretionary basis and there is no discount for retail. OQEP allocations were pro rata and retail received a 10% discount.

Retail subscriptions close on Thursday and institutional books on December 1. Pricing is due on December 3 and shares start trading on December 12.

Bank Dhofar, Bank Muscat and Morgan Stanley are joint global coordinators, and joint bookrunners with BSF Capital and Kamco Invest.

Source: IFR