Beirut (APD) - Iraq's Minister of industry and Minerals, Ussama Al Najafi announced that the government will soon offer ID 263 billion ($178.9 million) worth of shares in Kufa Cement, Singar Cement and Nineveh Factory for Intravenous Drugs Production for initial public offerings, the London-based Asharq al Awsat daily reported Thursday.
The ministry will offer 25% stake in Singar Cement which is located in northern Iraq, 25% stake in Kufa Cement in al Wasat and 84% stake in Nineveh Factory. It is expected that the remaining stakes in these companies will be offered to the public at a later date.
The move to divest small stakes in these companies is part of the ministry's plan to privatize many of its public firms and to bring life back to the Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX), the minister said.
Other firms which are slated for privatization in September are: Al Sumood Corporation, the Glass and Ceramic Factory, Waset Company and an unmade technology company.
The ISX which has been characterized by low volumes, erratic trading and low liquidity continues to suffer due to the unstable security conditions in the country. The ISX, which opened its doors in 2004, has staggered in the past year.
"While still on its feet, the uncertainty of the infusion of foreign capital into the market has meant that the big money, including Iraqi money, is sitting on the sidelines," an editorial on the ISX's website said.
Market experts warn that unless the government takes serious steps and measures of transparency to the operations of the ISX, local and foreign investors will consider the ISX too "archaic" for a place of investment. [FC]
By Nadim Issa, APD Staff Writer in Beirut
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2006
