Zain Iraq Plans IPO by July After $1.3 Billion Asiacell Sale

Zain Iraq plans to sell shares by the end of the first half as the nation’s biggest mobile-phone operator follows a $1.3 billion initial public offering by Qatar Telecom QSC’s Iraqi unit.

Zain Iraq, a unit of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co., will list 25 percent of its shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange by the end of June, Chief Financial Officer Wael Ghanayem said in an interview in Baghdad yesterday. “There will be a big demand for our shares and it will be very attractive.”