Japan's INPEX set for Nov. 17 Tokyo bourse listing: Report

Japanese state-backed oil firm INPEX Corp. is set to list on the Tokyo bourse on Nov. 17 in a share offering worth up to 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion), the third-biggest IPO in Japan this year, market sources was quoted by Reuters as saying on Friday.

The INPEX listing plan will be made public next Tuesday, the sources, who declined to be identified, said.

The planned INPEX initial public offering (IPO), part of the Japanese government's long-running privatisation programme, comes at a time when Japan is trying to reduce its massive public debt.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Nomura Securities, Daiwa Securities SMBC Co and Nikko Citigroup are lead underwriters for the INPEX IPO.

INPEX is 50 percent owned by Japan National Oil Corp (JNOC), a nonprofit state organization created in 1963 to provide funding for oil and gas exploration.

INPEX? Indonesian crown assets are 50 percent interest each in Mahakam PSC and Attaka Unit in East Kalimantan, 13.07 percent interest in Offshore Southeast Sumatra PSC and 7.25 percent in Offshore Northwest Java PSC.

Mahakam giant gas block is main natural gas supplier of Badak LNG plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan. (*)