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29 March 2024

Al Anwar to set up $53m financial firm

Published
By Agencies



Oman’s Al Anwar Holdings said yesterday it has won approval to set up a SAR200m ($53.33m, Dh195.82m) financial services firm in Saudi Arabia together with eight regional partners.


The new company, which will provide services including brokerage and corporate finance, will see Al Anwar, Bahraini investment bank Addax and Kuwait Investment Company each hold a 25 per cent stake in the firm, said its chief executive officer Krishnakumar Gupta, told Reuters.

The remainder will be held by six other regional companies, he added.

“We got the Saudi approval last week for a financial services firm with a capital of SAR200m,” he said.

The company expects to start operations in the third quarter of 2008, said Gupta.

Al Anwar said it plans to start selling $35m (Dh128m) worth of shares of its power transformer and switchgear producer to the public from April 20.

“Everything is on track… the initial public offering will open on April 20, subject to Capital Market Authority approval,” Gupta said, adding that the sale would be open for a month.

Gupta said in February that Al Anwar aimed to raise about OMR13.5 ($35.07m, Dh128.8m) in the initial public offering of Voltamp Manufacturing Company.

The initial public offering of existing and new shares of the company would value Voltamp at about OMR27m, with the proceeds going towards funding expansion, Gupta said.

Oman Arab Bank is advising on the initial public offering. It would be the country’s first initial public offering this year, where the index is the second-best performer in the Gulf market, up more than 14 per cent.

Muscat Securities Market Chairman Abdullah bin Salim Al Salmi said in March the bourse expected as many as three companies to sell shares in initial public offering this year. (Reuters)