Omantel’s maiden sukuk issue to close on January 26

Muscat: Oman’s largest telecom operator Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) said its debut sukuk issuance which opened for subscription on January 11, is likely to be closed on January 26.
The sukuk, which will have a tenor of 5 years, is offered on private placement to Omani and international investors. The size of the offering is OMR50 million and is being offered in both Omani rials and United States dollars. The maturity will be in 2021.
The minimum subscription amount for the Sukuk is OMR100,000/ $260,000. The profit rate on the sukuk will be set through a uniform price auction and will be finalised upon closing of subscription period on January 26.The sukuk issue has been provisionally rated A3 (stable) by Moody’s.
Omantel has mandated Standard Chartered Bank as sole structuring advisor. HSBC, National Bank of Oman and Standard Chartered Bank have been mandated as joint placement agents for the issue.
Reiterating the objectives of the sukuk issuance, Talal Al Mamari, chief executive officer of Omantel said, “The first sukuk issuance is a significant milestone for Omantel in its long and successful journey. We are proud to be the first to bring out a listed corporate sukuk issuance following the Government of Oman’s successful debut sovereign sukuk issuance recently.”
“We are confident that the Omantel sukuk issuance will help contribute positively to the government’s objectives of enhancing the liquidity in the fast growing Islamic financial sector in Oman, and we hope that it will set a new benchmark amongst corporate sukuk issuances and further strengthen the country’s capital market and wider economy,” he added.
For the purpose of the sukuk, an issuer SPV has been created and registered with the Ministry of Commerce &Industry named First Issue SAOC. The proceeds of the sukuk is primarily aimed at being utilised for building a new headquarters for the company, besides other corporate purposes.
Once issued, the certificates of the sukuk issuance is expected to be listed on the Muscat Securities Market and Muscat Clearing &Depository Company will act as certificate holders’ agent, paying agent and registrar for the sukuk.
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.