Zain Iraq’s IPO will launch before the end of June, according to the operator’s CFO.
Wael Ghanayem announced the new timeframe in an interview in Baghdad earlier this week, cited in Bloomberg.
As TelecomFinance previously reported, the float of the…
Zain Iraq’s IPO will launch before the end of June, according to the operator’s CFO.
Wael Ghanayem announced the new timeframe in an interview in Baghdad earlier this week, cited in Bloomberg.
As TelecomFinance previously reported, the float of the Kuwaiti telco group’s Iraqi unit has continued to be pushed back. In October, the company’s deputy CEO said the public offering would take place in early 2013 at the latest, although an analyst at the time told TelecomFinance that he thought the date could be later.
This week’s announcement follows the float of another Iraqi telco Asiacell, which raised US$1.24bn for 25% of its share capital earlier this month.
While the Asiacell IPO was fully subscribed, this involved parent company Qtel increasing its stake to 64.06% which some have suggested was due to a lack of investor appetite.
An analyst familiar with the companies told TelecomFinance today that he did not expect Zain Iraq’s IPO to launch by June due to delays in registering the company. “In fact if they manage a successful IPO in H2 2013 it will be an achievement,” he said.
This view was corroborated by Ahmed al-Omari, trustee board member of Iraq’s Communication and Media Commission and Geoffrey Batt, managing director of the Euphrates Iraq Fund, both cited in the Bloomberg report.
“At the moment, they need to overcome too many procedural hurdles to list by 30 June,” said Batt.
The analyst added that he doubted whether there would be enough appetite for Zain’s offering, bearing in mind that Asiacell “struggled” to sell a 25% stake. However, Zain Iraq CFO Ghanayem reportedly said: “There will be a big demand for our shares and it will be very attractive”.
Zain did not respond to TelecomFinance in time for the deadline.
