An Omani company has postponed the closing a $900 million bond issue for a giant resort in the Gulf Arab sultanate after the war in Lebanon weakened investor demand, the company said on Saturday.
Saleh Miri, chief executive of Al Sawadi Investment and Tourism Company, said subscription to the 7-year paper would close in early September instead of July.
"We had to wait for market conditions to become more positive," he told reporters.
Miri said European banks would likely constitute half of the investment in the bond, and violence in Lebanon had made some nervous about investing in Oman.
The Blue City resort, a $20 billion, 34-square kilometer residential and commercial development on the Gulf coast near Muscat, aims to host 2 million tourists per year when completed.
Fitch has said the deal will offer $720 million of BBB- rated notes and $180 million of BB-rated notes, which it said would be repaid primarily with the sale of residential homes from the development. The notes have a final and legal maturity in 2016.