Thursday, May 26, 2011
(Adds analyst comment in paragraph 5; details, background in paragraphs 6 and 7.)
DOHA (Zawya Dow Jones)--Qatari taxi and bus company Mowasalat is in early talks with banks about floating its shares on the Doha bourse early next year in what would be the first initial public offering, or IPO, in the Gulf Arab state since developer Mazaya Qatar went public early last year, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
"A lot of banks are looking at it," said one person familiar with the transport group's plans.
Another person with knowledge of the situation said banks were currently bidding to advise the company on its planned float and the tendering process closes at the end of next month.
No one at Mowasalat, the largest taxi company in the Persian-Gulf state, which also runs limousine, school and public bus services, was immediately available to comment.
One analyst said the Qatari government is keen to expand its bourse by encouraging more companies to list. "The general approach by the government is that they want to enlarge the stock market and add more listed companies," said Thamer Jadallah, head of investments at the Almana Group in Doha. "It's also a new sector--we don't have a transport sector [on the Qatar Exchange]."
Mowasalat, also known as The Transport Company of Qatar, is 100% by owned the government. As of late August last year, the group employed 6,500 staff and has a fleet of 400 limousines and 2500 buses and taxis, according to Zawya.com data.
The global financial crisis in 2008-2009 put the brakes on IPO activity in the tiny Gulf nation that has struggled to recover since. In January 2010 real estate developer Mazaya Qatar floated its shares but failed to woo investors and was only 4% subscribed in the first week, the company said at the time. Qatar Airways is planning a dual-listing IPO in London and on the local Doha bourse in 2013 or 2014, its Chief Executive Officer has said.
-By Alex Delmar-Morgan, Dow Jones Newswires; +974 6659 9818; alex.delmar-morgan@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
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26-05-11 0955GMT
