Muscat City Desalination plans to offer 8.3 per cent dividend yield

Muscat: Muscat City Desalination Company (MCDC), which is opening its initial public offering on Sunday, said the company plans to offer a projected dividend yield of 8.3 per cent for the first five years, considering the offer price of 116 baisas.
This compares with the average dividend yield of 5.9 per cent for the other power and water companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The shares will be listed on the MSM on January 2, 2018.
“The company benefits from stable and predictable cash flows. This is on account of the revenues being contracted on an availability basis with OPWP, which is owned by the Government, pursuant to a long-term Water Purchase Agreement (WPA) until 2034,” said Subrina Thiagarajah, CEO of MCDC. “It is also worth noting that a long-term offtake agreement for 20 years term is longer than the 15 years term typically prevalent for power companies in Oman. This would translate into cash flow visibility for a longer period for MCDC shareholders,” she added. The strong contractual framework for the sector has enabled MCDC to offer a steady and attractive dividend yield to investors.
Bank Muscat is the financial adviser and issue manager for the IPO. The founding shareholders, who are leading international names in the industry, are selling these shares to the public to comply with their obligations in the Project Founders Agreement signed with the government.
MCDC, owner of Oman’s largest operating desalination plant located in Muscat, is offering 54.44 million shares at a price of 116 baisas per share (comprising a nominal value of 100 baisas, premium of 14 baisas and expenses of 2 baisas per share). The IPO represents an offer of 35 per cent of the share capital of the company.
Small investors
The IPO, which will close subscription on December 18, is open to Omani and non-Omani investors, including individual and institutional investors. In the IPO, 65 per cent of the shares made available for subscription have been reserved for investors applying for a minimum of 1,000 shares and a maximum of 500,000 shares, and 35 per cent of the shares have been reserved for investors applying for a minimum of 500,001 shares, up to a maximum of 5,444,200 shares.
The application form for the IPO is available for collection at any branches of the subscription banks — Bank Muscat, National Bank of Oman, Oman Arab Bank, Bank Dhofar, Bank Sohar and Ahli Bank.
MCDC is the owner and operator of the Ghubrah Independent Water Plant, Oman’s largest operating desalination plant built with a total investment of $103 million. The plant, with a total capacity output to deliver 42 million gallons of potable water every day, provides approximately 24 per cent of the total water capacity in the interconnected zone and 60 per cent of the total water demand for Muscat city. The plant, based on a well proven seawater reverse osmosis technology, helps the company deliver uninterrupted water supply with minimum outages.
The company was promoted by Malakoff International (Malaysia), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) and Cadagua SA (Spain), which have extensive expertise and demonstrated track record in the global water industry.