Muscat Daily reported that shareholders of oil and gas conglomerate Renaissance Services have approved the move to raise USD 500 million for a Topaz Energy and Marine offshoot by listing the subsidiary on the London Stock Exchange.

As the company seeks to take advantage of opportunities in Topaz's key markets in the offshore oil and gas sector, the Renaissance board created Topaz Listco, the UK Company which will be listed following its IPO.

Mr Samir Fancy chairman of Renaissance that if the company was listed now it would be one of the 250 most valuable companies in the United Kingdom. With 100 vessels operating in across the Middle East and North Africa, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Topaz posted 2010 revenue of OMR 93.2 million with an operating profit of OMR 35.2 million.

Mr Fancy said that despite the ongoing regional unrest, Portugal's financial woes and Japan's catastrophic earthquake, the company is pressing ahead with the IPO process and has been buoyed by its reception. At the moment, it is a very difficult time in the region and the world. In addition to that since the process started, we have had problems in Japan and now Portugal so sentiment is not good. But the IPO process is still ongoing.

(Sourced from Muscat Daily)