Zain’s joint stock company in Iraq, ‘Al-Khatem’, lists on Iraqi Stock Exchange, completes first day of trading
- 25% of company’s shares offered to the investor community
Baghdad, June 23rd 2015
Further to the joint agreement and memorandum announced on April 28, 2015 between Al-Khatem J.S.C, parent company of Atheer Telecom Iraq Limited (trading under the brand name “Zain” in Iraq), the Iraqi CMC (Communications and Media Commission), the ISC (Iraq Securities Commission), the ISX (Iraq Stock Exchange), and the IDC (Iraq Depositary Center), Al-Khatem announces the completion of its listing procedure and fulfilling all of its obligations towards the regulators in a successful manner within the required two months. Al-Khatem has now commenced trading its shares on the exchange and is open to public investment.
Zain has been operating in Iraq since 2003; investing in over US$5 billion to date establishing essential mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Iraq and employing over 2500 Iraqi nationals.
In accordance with its license terms, 25% of the equity of Al-Khatem was offered to the investor community on the Iraqi stock market by one of the founding shareholders of the Company. The first day of trading saw the share price closing at 5.99 (average price was 6.09) Iraqi Dinar (IQD) per share reflecting a market capitalization for Al-Khatem of 11,143 trillion IQD (US$ 9.5 billion), leading to a substantial increase in the ISX’s total market capitalization.
Mr. Taha AbdulSalam, CEO of the ISX commented; “The listing of AlKhatem Telecom (Zain Iraq) is anticipated to increase liquidity and attract foreign direct investment to the ISX promoting Iraq’s local economy towards an important and profitable sector. The Exchange is happy to have a stock with the caliber of Zain Iraq on our trading board. It is a high profile and prosperous company in a significant sector of the country’s economy, the success of which ought to be shared by a broad base of Iraqi nationals and investors. We congratulate Al-Khatem on its momentous IPO, and wish the company every success as a publicly-traded entity.”
Mr. Saif Altimen, Zain Iraq’s Head of Investor Relations said: “We look forward to the participation of the investment community in one of the most profitable and resilient companies in Iraq. Al Khatem (Zain Iraq) is today the largest company by capital in the country and we are happy to have complied with the terms included in our license agreement. We thank all the regulators and the governing bodies, who have worked professionally and transparently throughout the entire process, for assisting us to arrive at this monumental position.”
All interested investors can acquire shares in Al-Khatem through contacting any of the authorized brokers listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange.
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