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Palestine's Wataniya: Nearly 14,000 Investors Applied For IPO

2010-12-28

Wataniya Palestine Mobile Telecommunications Public Shareholding Company ("Wataniya Mobile" or the "Company"), the second Palestinian mobile phone operator, announced the final levels of subscription for its Initial Public Offering ("IPO" or "the Offer") .  The Offer, which raised $50.3m, was the largest in Palestine for 10 years and generated total demand of $78m - over 1.5 times subscribed. There was strong demand from investors - both from retail investors in Palestine and from a broad base of international institutional investors, predominantly from Europe and the Middle East, with around 13,850 applying for shares. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Palestinian Companies Law and the Palestine Capital Market Authority"s (PCMA) requirement to protect retail investors, the first 300 shares of all subscribers will be allocated in full. Any subscription above this amount will be allocated to investors on a pro-rata basis. Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, Chairman of Wataniya Mobile, commented: "Against a backdrop of difficult global equity markets, these subscription levels, and the sheer number of participating investors, reconfirm what a successful transaction this has been." Dr. Bassam Hannoun, Chief Executive Officer of Wataniya Mobile said: "This has undoubtedly been a tremendous vote of confidence by Palestinian and international investors in Wataniya and our business model. We greatly value the trust placed in us and are committed to ensuring that we continue to create value for all our shareholders - both old and new."