Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission has reportedly asked the country’s three operators, Zain Iraq, Asiacell and Korek to offer a quarter of their shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange by August 2012. As per industry sources, the IPO (Initial Public Offering) process could raise over US$ 3 billion for the three operators and if successful, could also double the size of the country’s stock market to $ 8 billion.
However, sources claim that concerns have been raised over the ability of the domestic investors to carry the expected size of the flotation given the challenging capital markets elsewhere in the world. According to reports, in an attempt to increase the shareholder base, banks are considering bringing in international investors along with the domestic investors.
As per sources, the banks chosen for the process include Citigroup, BNP Paribas and NBK for Zain Iraq; HSBC and Morgan Stanley for Asiacell while Korek is yet to finalise its advisors for the deal.