MUSCAT: As many as five Omani companies, including three owned by the government, are expected to list on the local bourse in 2016, the head of the market regulator was quoted as saying by a local newspaper on Thursday.
Mining Development Oman and Falcon Insurance would list as well as three state-owned firms, Abdullah bin Salem al-Salmi, executive president of Oman’s Capital Market Authority, told Times of Oman.
He did not name the state-owned firms that are expected to list, but his comments echo those made by the finance minister to Reuters last month.
Oman’s Capital Market Authority was not immediately available to comment.
Oman has said it is looking to privatise a number of state companies as part of measures to close budget deficits caused by lower oil prices. The sultanate has forecast a 3.3 billion rials ($8.6 billion) deficit in 2016.
Mining Development Oman was expected to list by the end of the second quarter, Abdulsalam al-Murshidi, executive president of the State General Reserve Fund, Oman’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, told Reuters last week.
Falcon Insurance is 51 percent owned by Al Anwar Holding , which disclosed in June it was planning an initial public offering of the insurer subject to approvals from the regulator and shareholders.
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