Doha (AFP)
Baladna dairy, which helped Qatar to resist the embargo of its Gulf neighbors, was introduced Wednesday on the Doha Stock Exchange, managing to raise 390 million dollars (352 million euros).
For its first steps on the stock market, the action of the dairy group, 75% of which were placed on the market, moved slightly above its introductory price, a riyal (0.27 dollar, 0.25 euro) shortly after the opening of the session at 0630 GMT.
After the embargo imposed in 2017 by a coalition of states against Qatar, accused of supporting Islamist groups and proximity to Iran, the rich emirate gas imported hundreds of Holstein cows to cope with the shortage of products dairy.
Part of Zero, the farm, 55 km north of Doha, now provides more than 90% of the country's fresh dairy needs.
Baladna's stock market introduction has been widely publicized in Qatar. Even before the opening, some 23% of the securities had already been sold to institutional investors in November, including the government pension fund and a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund.
"This is really a day of pride for Qatar, it proves that the strategy they (its leaders) had defined a few years ago - especially after the blockade - was the right one," Kamel told AFP. Abdallah, general manager of Baladna, after the bell was sounded marking the beginning of the quotation.
If the event was overshadowed by the mega-IPO of oil giant Aramco in neighboring Saudi Arabia, also on Wednesday, it represents a milestone for Qatar's still nascent food industry.
The CEO also announced that Baladna would pay a dividend of 2.5% of the share value in 2019.
© 2019 AFP