Qatar's Al Meera Consumer Goods, the franchise for French retailer Casino's Geant hypermarkets in Qatar and Oman, will begin a rights issue at the end of January to double its paid-up capital, a statement said on Sunday.

The firm will raise QR950 million ($260.9 million) from the offering of 10 million new shares at 95 riyals each between January 27 and February 10, the bourse filing said.

The rights issue price is significantly below the current share price, which was trading 1 per cent down at 164.9 riyals at 0710 GMT.

Existing shareholders can sign up for one new share for every one share they currently hold, although they can also bid to take up any unsubscribed stock.

As well as being a franchise for Geant, Al Meera operates more than 20 supermarkets under its own banner in the gas-rich state of Qatar. -Reuters