Omantel sukuk evokes strong response

Muscat: Book-building process for the Omantel sukuk via private placement is currently being done. A large number of Omani and international investors have expressed strong interest in the debut sukuk issuance of Oman’s largest telecom operator Oman Telecommunications.
The proposed OMR50 million issuance is the country’s first multi-denominated sukuk, offered in both Omani rials and US dollars. The bankers have been holding one-on-one meetings with key investors, and said that the issuance is gathering pace amongst both Omani and international investors.
“We are excited about the response that the sukuk is generating in the local and regional markets, and the response as expected has been very positive. We are positive that this will help create a favourable investment climate, and enhance liquidity in the domestic market by attracting fresh foreign capital,” said Talal bin Said Al Mamari, CEO of Omantel.
“The sukuk will help investors by providing an instrument to diversify their portfolio. It is also important to note that the sukuk is denominated in multiple-currencies, both in Omani rials and US dollars,” he added.
Earlier, had assigned a provisional A3 (stable) rating to the sukuk. The sukuk will have a tenor of 5 years and mature in 2021. The minimum subscription amount for the sukuk is OMR100,000 or $260,000. The profit rate on the sukuk will be set through a uniform price auction and will be finalised upon closing of the subscription period.
Interested investors can get further information on the sukuk from the Investment Banking Division of National Bank of Oman who are acting as the issue manager and collecting bank. Subscription closes on January 26.
Omantel is the largest telecom company in Oman with a domestic subscriber base of over 4.3 million including mobile resellers and 59 per cent mobile network market share as at third quarter of 2015. Omantel was awarded the Leading Corporate for Investor Relations and Best Investor Relations Professional in Oman for the year 2015, at the 7th Annual Middle East Investor Relations Society (MEIRS). Omantel
has been voted by Brand Finance as the most valuable brand in the Sultanate for the fifth consecutive year as well as the most trusted brand in telecom sector in Oman as revealed by ‘Oman Economic Review’ brand survey.