Muscat: This spike in activity is driven by individual Omani investors selling off shares to raise funds for the OQ Exploration and Production IPO, which is set to close on October 9 for individuals and October 10 for institutions.

OQ is offering a massive 2 billion shares, representing 25 percent of its total capital, making it the largest public offering in Omani history. Out of the total shares, 800 million have been allocated to individual investors, with 400 million shares reserved for small investors. The offering price is set at 351 baisas for Omanis and 390 baisas for foreign investors.

Despite the rise in transactions, the MSX saw a notable drop in liquidity, with the total trading value declining by 49 percent to RO 10.8 million, compared to RO 21.2 million the previous week. Individual Omani investors dominated the market, accounting for 48.2 per cent of total sales, as they scrambled to free up capital for the OQ subscription. Meanwhile, their purchases only made up 21.1 per cent of trading activity.

OQ Gas Networks led the pack with 1,449 executed transactions, followed by Bank Muscat with 179. Abraj Energy Services and Galfar Engineering tied for third place with 174 transactions each, while Phoenix Energy rounded out the top five with 124 deals. However, these increases in trading activity could not counterbalance the drop in market liquidity.

The MSX main index fell by 28 points, closing at 4673 points. The industrial sector saw the steepest drop, down 76 points, while the financial and services sectors fell by 30 and 18 points, respectively. The Sharia index, however, was a rare bright spot, inching up by 2 points to 430.

Investor interest focused heavily on Bank Muscat, OQ Gas Networks, Abraj Energy Services, Bank Sohar International, and Omantel, which collectively accounted for 65 per cent of the total trading value. Bank Muscat led with trades worth RO 2.4 million, followed by OQ Gas Networks at RO 1.4 million, Abraj Energy Services at RO 1.3 million, and Bank Sohar International at RO 1.2 million. Omantel posted RO 600,000 in trades.

Despite the trading volume boost, the market value of listed securities dropped by RO 100 million, settling at RO 24.434 billion by the end of last week.

In terms of stock performance, Muscat Thread Factories topped the gainers’ list with a 15.3 pe rcent increase, closing at 128 baisas. Dhofar Power Generation and Oman Chromite Company also recorded gains, up by 14.2 and 9.8 pe rcent, respectively. On the losing side, Muscat Gases plummeted by 10 per cent, closing at 108 baisas, while Barka Water and Power slid by 9.9 per cent to 227 baisas.

In corporate developments, BankDhofar announced plans to acquire the Oman branch of Bank of Baroda, pending final approvals. Additionally, Sohar Power Company held an extraordinary general assembly on October 6 to discuss restructuring its debt and capital amidst ongoing financial challenges.