Oman desalination firm raises $82m in IPO

30/06/2013 16:52 AST

Oman-based Sharqiyah Desalination Company (SDC) has announced the listing of its shares on the Muscat Security Market following closure of its successful Initial Public Offer (IPO) which helped the company raise RO31.9 million ($82.5 million) against the IPO size of RO2.42 million.

The issue was a real success since it evoked strong interest from investors. The company offered a total of 2.28 million shares which was covered 13.1 times, said a statement from the company.

The shares, which were listed under the code SHRQ, opened at RO3.127 per share whereas the offer price was RO1.063 per share - i.e. an increase of 194 per cent, it stated.

SDC, which owns and operates the desalination plant in Sur, addresses the depletion of the region's limited groundwater resource by processing over 200,000 cu m/ day of seawater from its unique beach-well catchment, the largest in the world,

The IPO, which was offered to individual investors only, received an overwhelming response, it added.

Commenting on the listing, CEO Xavier Joseph said, "The completion of SDC IPO is a rewarding moment for the company and its founder shareholders. On the eve of this new phase of development, I would like to reaffirm our intention of making SDC the benchmark for desalination in Oman serving the local community with the highest quality and safety standards."

SDC produces 80,000 cu m/day of drinking water to 350,000 inhabitants using very high energy efficient reverse osmosis technology, he explained.

Its unique process eliminates the requirement of chemicals for pre-treatment, optimizes the energy efficiency and ensures a minimal impact on the marine and coastal biodiversity, he added.

The key shareholders of the Omani firm include Veolia, the global leader in environmental services and National Power and Water Company.

The desalination plant is operated by Bahwan Veolia Water Company (ISO certified) owned by Bahwan Engineering Company, a leader in engineering construction projects and Veolia.

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