11 June 2012
Muscat: The much-awaited listing of Oman's first Islamic bank did little to enthuse investor community, as the shares gained only 13 per cent.
Bank Nizwa share trading on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) started slightly high at 119 baisas, against the offer price of 102 a share. However, the share could not sustain at this level and started sliding soon to close trading at 115 baisas, with institutional support coming in patches.
The investing public was anticipating a listing gain of 25 per cent on the first day.
Market sources said the share will gain ground in the next couple of days, as a sizable portion of retailers must have offloaded their holdings on the first day of listing.
As many as 87.03 million shares changed hand (generating a turnover of RO9.98 million), with retail investors offloading their stock to make a quick gain yesterday. As much as 96 per cent of the market volume and 92 per cent of the total turnover of RO10.84 million were constituted by Bank Nizwa counter yesterday. The MSM extended trading hours by half-an-hour, till 1.30 pm, to facilitate heavy trading in Bank Nizwa counter.
'Selling pressure'
"The institutional support, which was expected on listing, was coming in patches. Mostly local institutions were buying the stock. They were not going for aggressive buying. These institutions were price cautious and probably, may have price targets,- said Kanaga Sundar, Senior Analyst, Gulf Baader Capital Markets. "This triggered selling pressure.-
The normal 10 per cent price cap, which is applicable for all shares, will not be applicable for Bank Nizwa shares for two more days. Market sources said that the initial trading was more or less in line with the market expectations. However, the fact that the market could not sustain the initial price surprised the operators.
As many as 38,000 investors received share allotment from the Sultanate's first Sharia-compliant bank that came out with a RO60 million IPO last month.
The issue was heavily oversubscribed, with the bank raising a whopping RO681 million in the one-month long subscription that closed on May 22.
Muscat: The much-awaited listing of Oman's first Islamic bank did little to enthuse investor community, as the shares gained only 13 per cent.
Bank Nizwa share trading on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) started slightly high at 119 baisas, against the offer price of 102 a share. However, the share could not sustain at this level and started sliding soon to close trading at 115 baisas, with institutional support coming in patches.
The investing public was anticipating a listing gain of 25 per cent on the first day.
Market sources said the share will gain ground in the next couple of days, as a sizable portion of retailers must have offloaded their holdings on the first day of listing.
As many as 87.03 million shares changed hand (generating a turnover of RO9.98 million), with retail investors offloading their stock to make a quick gain yesterday. As much as 96 per cent of the market volume and 92 per cent of the total turnover of RO10.84 million were constituted by Bank Nizwa counter yesterday. The MSM extended trading hours by half-an-hour, till 1.30 pm, to facilitate heavy trading in Bank Nizwa counter.
'Selling pressure'
"The institutional support, which was expected on listing, was coming in patches. Mostly local institutions were buying the stock. They were not going for aggressive buying. These institutions were price cautious and probably, may have price targets,- said Kanaga Sundar, Senior Analyst, Gulf Baader Capital Markets. "This triggered selling pressure.-
The normal 10 per cent price cap, which is applicable for all shares, will not be applicable for Bank Nizwa shares for two more days. Market sources said that the initial trading was more or less in line with the market expectations. However, the fact that the market could not sustain the initial price surprised the operators.
As many as 38,000 investors received share allotment from the Sultanate's first Sharia-compliant bank that came out with a RO60 million IPO last month.
The issue was heavily oversubscribed, with the bank raising a whopping RO681 million in the one-month long subscription that closed on May 22.
© Times of Oman 2012
