There is nothing like a functioning stock exchange for symbolising normality – even if the reality is rather different. The London Stock Exchange missed only six days of trading during the second world war, in spite of bombs and air raids. When the New York Stock Exchange reopened days after 9/11, this was heralded as a step towards recovery.
No wonder the initial public offering of Asiacell on the Iraq Stock Exchange – mandated under the telco’s licence terms – was being trumpeted on Monday. Local investors, holding 25 per cent of Iraq’s second-largest mobile telecoms operator by subscribers, sold their shares at 22 dinar. After the first day’s trading, the stock had climbed more than 5 per cent, capitalising Asiacell at about $5bn. That doubles total market values at the Baghdad-based exchange, where banks dominate.
Interest in Asiacell is said to have come partly from wealthy individuals and hedge funds in the region – although a paucity of custodian arrangements did little to bolster western interest, while Qatar Telecomlifted its majority stake to more than 64 per cent. Asiacell’s best feature is its scope for growth: mobile penetration in Iraq is low, at under 80 per cent or half the level in Qatar, say. The company – with 2011 sales of $1.5bn and pre-tax profits of $500m – has seen customer numbers rise from 7.3m in 2009 to 10m last September, and has a market share of about 40 per cent, compared with more than 50 per cent for Zain Iraq.