Zain Iraq investment unit lists on local stock exchange

Al-Khatem, parent company of Atheer Telecom Iraq Limited (trading under the brand name Zain in Iraq) announces the completion of its listing procedure, fulfilling all of its obligations within the required two-month period stipulated by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). 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 over US$5 billion to date establishing essential mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Iraq and employing over 2,500 Iraqi nationals.

In accordance with its licence terms, 25 per cent 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 IQD5.99 (US$0.005) (with an average price of IQD6.09) per share reflecting a market capitalisation for Al-Khatem of IQD10.96 trillion and leading to a substantial increase in the Iraq Stock Exchange’s overall market capitalisation.