Iraqi Operators to List on Iraq Stock Exchange

The Iraqi government has announced plans to require the country's three mobile phone networks to list their shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) by the middle of 2010. The move could triple the value of shares on the stock market, based on current prices to over US$6 billion.

Basil al-Rahim, managing partner of MerchantBridge, the London-based investment firm that owns 19 per cent of Asiacell told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) "It has to be done in 2009, or by early 2010 at the latest," says Al-Rahim. "If you value them [Zain and Asiacell] according to industry benchmarks, they are worth more than $2bn each."

The companies have known that they would be required to list their shares eventually, as it is a requirement of their operating licenses. However, the government now believes that the market is ready to handle the listings and is pressuring the companies to float their shares. The stock exchange only switched to computerised trading last month - replacing two blackboards which used to record trades.

"Asiacell's licence stipulates a fairly substantial listing of 25-30 per cent," added Al-Rahim.

In a separate development, Asiacell has announced the launch of GSM coverage in the Al-Anbar and Diyala governorates, making Asiacell the first mobile network operator to provide coverage for all 18 of Iraqi governorates.

The Mobile World subscriber tracker reports that Zain ended last September with around 8.5 million customers, compared to just under 5.6 million for Asiacell.

On the web: MEED - Mobile World

Posted to the site on 2nd March 2009