International law firm Trowers & Hamlins advises on Sultanate of Oman’s first corporate private placement of up to RO 75,000,000 Deferrable Unsecured Perpetual Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Bonds Issued by Oman International Development & Investment Company S.A.O.G. (Ominvest).
This is Oman's first corporate deferrable unsecured perpetual subordinated fixed rate resettable bond issuance and also the first such bond to be listed on the Muscat Securities Market.
This transaction also marks Ominvest's debut in the bond market and the first bond issuance to utilise an agency structure in Oman.
The bond issuance forms part of a larger and diversified fund raising by Ominvest of OMR 250m (USD650m) which includes a mixture of long and short term syndicated and bilateral financings.
Ominvest is a publicly listed company with diversified sources of income. It is among the longest established investment companies in Oman with an extensive footprint in Oman across various asset classes including banking, asset management and advisory, insurance and real estate.
Trowers & Hamlins advised as transaction counsel on all aspects of the issuance.
The bonds were admitted to trading by the Muscat Securities Market on the Bonds and Sukuk Market on 9 June 2018.
National Bank of Oman S.A.O.G. acted as the issue manager and collecting bank to the issue and Ubhar Capital S.A.O.C. acted as financial advisor to the issue.
Thomas Wigley, head of the Oman office at Trowers & Hamlins commented:
“This landmark and innovative transaction demonstrates the strength of Trowers debt capital markets expertise in the region, particularly Oman. We are extremely pleased to have advised our long standing clients, National Bank of Oman and Ominvest. We worked closely with the National Bank of Oman and Ominvest to resolve issues unique to this market, particular those relating to Articles 86 to 94 of the Commercial Companies Law dealing with maturity dates of bond issuances in Oman. The reception of this transaction is a testament to the strength of the Ominvest name and significant confidence in Oman. This issuance is another transaction in a long list of capital markets transactions originating out of Oman that we have advised on over the last few years."
The Trowers & Hamlins team was led by partners Salman Ahmed (London/Oman), Elias Moubarak (Dubai), Jamie Gibson (Oman), assisted by Tamim Rahman (senior associate, Oman), Esther Low (senior associate, Malaysia), Nicol Ong (associate, Malaysia), Reem Jano (Abu Dhabi) and Alshaima Alhinai (Oman).
