Prevailing market conditions will require Vodafone Qatar to submit a new set of dates for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA).
A Vodafone Qatar official told The Peninsula yesterday: "We had prepared several dates and presented them to the QFMA. However, due to the market conditions at the time, the QFMA did not approve the proposed dates and requested Vodafone Qatar propose a revised timetable."
However, time is running short as, according to the terms of licence issued to Vodafone by ictQATAR, the Vodafone-Qatar Foundation (QF) consortium must go in for an IPO by November 30. The official said: "If we are not given dates which meet the ictQATAR deadline, we will have to take a letter in writing to them from the QFMA on why the deadline could not be met."
Should a letter be required, the matter would be out of Vodafone's hands and it would be up to ictQATAR to set a new deadline, if deemed necessary. Moreover, Vodafone would not be breaching any part of the licensing agreement as the QFMA is the ultimate authority when it comes to matters related to the stock exchange, including whether an IPO should be given the go-ahead or not.
With the QFMA advising Vodafone Qatar against going for the IPO on the latter's preferred dates, it is clear the global markets scenario has spread here. Earlier this month, a senior banker had told this paper that internationally, the market had dried up, leaving no room for IPOs, even by a big name like Vodafone.
The Pen
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