CAIRO: Telecom Egypt (TE) raised LE 5. 132 billion ($892 million) from its initial public offering, valuing the company at $4. 6 billion on the London and Cairo exchanges where it will begin trade next week, it said on Thursday. The IPO was the largest from the Middle East and North Africa to list on an international exchange, the company s bankers said. This year, companies such as telecoms firm Investcom and Oman s Bank Muscat have listed global depository receipts in London,as they look to increase their international exposure and gain access to large foreign exchanges, which typically are more liquid than domestic ones. Egypt Telecom will begin trade on Dec. 14. About 340 million shares in total were on offer in the IPO. Half were reserved for investment institutions, and after the deduction of shares sold to retail investors, the remainder was set aside for employees. Egypt s stock exchange said in a statement on Thursday, a day after bidding closed, that retail investors bidding for shares in the Telecom Egypt IPO received 10. 6 percent of the number of shares they asked for. Retail bidders could buy a maximum of 10,000 of the 154 million shares available to the public. Demand hit 1. 45 billion shares, a source close to the IPO said. Shares were priced at LE 15. 56 ($2.71) for investment institutions and LE 14. 80 for retail investors. The partial privatization of TE, which has a landline monopoly in the Arab world s most populous country, was one of the largest since a cabinet of economic liberals took office in July 2004. Bankers expect more public offerings of state-owned companies in Egypt, including in the tobacco and utilities sectors. "This IPO is a great confirmation of the seriousness of the Egyptian government about privatization, said Albert Momdjian, a banker at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). CSFB and EFG Hermes were lead managers on the TE listing. There is an over-allotment option of 41.9 million shares or 12.3 percent of the total offer size. -Reuters
