A strong appetite for the telecommunications sector continues to prevail as Wataniya Palestine's initial public offering (IPO) was at least 1.5 times oversubscribed.
The success has lifted sentiment in the Palestinian Territories, and Ahmad Aweidah, the chief executive of the Palestine Exchange, revealed there would be an IPO of the Palestine Insurance Company next month.
The Palestinian Territories's second mobile operator behind PALTEL raised more than US$75 million, far more than the $50.3m initially offered for the company. That was based on a fixed price of $1.30 per share.
Telecoms IPOs have been a bright spot in the Middle East, with Axiom Telecom also expected to list this week.
Demand for Wataniya came from retail investors in the Palestinian Territories and international institutional investors based mostly in Europe and the Middle East. The IPO will add about 14 per cent to the company's total market capitalisation, bringing it to about $335.4m.
Wataniya joins 40 companies traded on the Palestinian exchange that have a combined market capitalisation of about $2.5 billion.
"I've been blown away," said Michael Bevan, the head of MENA equity capital markets at HSBC, the sole book-runner for the offer.
"Telecoms is a good sector for difficult times because people always want to use their mobile," he said, adding that buyers of the stock were drawn in by a young company that has growth potential.
The operator launched in November last year and has captured 20 per cent of the mobile market share.
It has the backing of Qatar Telecom, which owns 53 per cent of the company, and the Palestinian Investment Fund, which owns 47 per cent, and is expected to list on the Palestine Exchange next month.
Wataniya received bids for 58.05 million new shares compared with the 38.7 million on offer. The shares represent a 15 per cent free-float of the company.
It was required to list at least 30 per cent of its shares by the local regulator. The next 15 per cent tranche of shares is expected to be offered within the next few years, though Mr Bevan said he did not expect that to be "any time soon".
fhalime@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A