Asiacell shares sold on Iraq bourse in major float

[TrinityeXchange]

Asiacell shares sold on Iraq bourse in major float

KARIN LAUB | February 3, 2013 09:35 AM EST |

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi mobile phone company Asiacell sold a 25 percent stake to investors Sunday, raising close to $1.3 billion in one of the region's largest share offers in years.

The floatation on the Iraq Stock Exchange was seen as a test of investor confidence in the country.

It could reassure international investors, many of whom remain wary of the risky Iraqi market, influenced by continued sectarian violence and political deadlock.

In the latest violence Sunday, a suicide car bomber joined by other suicide attackers on foot assaulted a provincial police headquarters in the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least 15 people and wounding 90 others, officials said.

Asiacell had offered a quarter of its shares, or 67.5 billion, as part of licensing requirements. The initial share price was set at 22 Iraqi dinars, or just under 2 cents.

With Asiacell's share offer, the market capitalization of the ISX nearly doubled to about $9 billion, up from $4.7 billion, said Taha al-Rubaye, head of the stock exchange.

Foreign investors bought about two-thirds of the stock, said Shwan Taha, whose brokerage firm, Rabee Securities, organized the sale.

Regular trading of Asiacell stock is set to begin Monday.

Al-Rubaye said it's the first stock float on the ISX, which was set up in 2004, a year after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Al-Rubaye said he believes it's also the largest IPO in the Middle East in nearly five years.

The government-controlled oil sector dominates the Iraqi economy, dwarfing a small private sector and capital market. Al-Rubaye said he hopes the Asiacell offer is a sign of change.

Geoffrey Batt, a New York-based fund manager who has been investing on the Baghdad exchange since 2008, said that "Asiacell is demonstrable evidence that Iraq does in fact have a viable capital market."

"It indicates that this is a market capable of attracting significant investment from local and foreign sources," he said.

Asiacell is one of three major Iraqi telecom companies, along with Zain Iraq, part of Kuwait's Zain, and Korek, an affiliate of France Telecom. The Gulf state of Qatar's government-backed Qatar Telecom has a majority stake in Asiacell.

The three companies were required to list shares on the stock exchange as a condition of their 15-year operating licenses, which cost $1.25 billion when they were acquired in 2007.

All three missed a deadline in August 2011 to offer shares to the public

[dmdebar]

All signs are pointing in a positive direction lately!! Go RV!! Go 9ers!!

[TrinityeXchange]

All signs are pointing in a positive direction lately!! Go RV!! Go 9ers!!

I would definitely agree. Look at the kind of day the ISX had because of this good Asiacell news (or so this is what I am attributing it to at least).

19 high companies vs 4 low - that's a great day on the market!

Market Summary

ISX Price Index 123.68

Change % 0.84

Volume 1,489,064,947,833

Traded Shares 70,655,307,130

Trades 3,604

Listed Companies 73

Traded Companies 31

High Companies 19

Low Companies 4

[moneysoon]

We are moving in the right direction. Index funds will be nice one day. Until then, we'll ride the individual stocks.

[mlay901]

We are moving in the right direction. Index funds will be nice one day. Until then, we'll ride the individual stocks.

OK, I am going to expose my ignorance here...**TOTAL NEWB ALERT**

What are Index funds and how should one go about planning on getting involved if they are going to be good? Thanks in advance!

[moneysoon]

OK, I am going to expose my ignorance here...**TOTAL NEWB ALERT**

What are Index funds and how should one go about planning on getting involved if they are going to be good? Thanks in advance!

mlay901,

Later, hopefully several instruments will appear that will let you invest in multple ways. One way is to invest in the total market or specific sectors of the market. There are many other ways the rich and famous have devised how to make and keep money. Stay tuned...