Cairo (APD) - Majda Sakr, chief commercial officer of SyriaTel Mobile Telecom, said that the Syrian GSM operator plans to list its shares on the Dubai Stock Exchange in the next few months, according to media reports published Tuesday.
Sakr said that listing on Dubai Stock Exchange would "allow the shares to trade more widely before listing on the Syrian bourse that the government has plans for by year-end."
"We have investors from all over the world and they need to have the convenience of a stock market ... We started the process ... We are preparing all the documents to make sure we have all the requirements needed," Sakr added.
SyriaTel Mobile Telecom, who launched an IPO last October to sell 10.5% of its shares, has successfully completed the IPO to increase the capital by seven million shares to reach 67 million shares. Moreover, the Syrian GSM operator has raised an additional SYP 2.8 billion ($53.85 million) and has priced the new 7 million shares, at a price of SYP 400 ($7.6).
SyriaTel's 1.25 million subscribers gives it a 55% market share with the rest held by SpaceTel Syria, a firm owned by former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati's family and Saudi interests.
Syriatel's net profits rose to reach SYP 3.5 billion in 2004, compared to SYP 1.7 billion a year earlier. 2005 profits are expected to rise to 6 SYP billion. [FC]By Eman Wahby
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2005
