Qtel’s USD1.9bn rights issue fully subscribed

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) announced yesterday that its QAR6.8 billion (USD1.9 billion) rights issue has been fully subscribed and that it will use part of the proceeds to refinance existing debt, Dow Jones Newswires reports. The company said in an emailed statement that the subscribed new shares will be added to shareholder accounts by 31 May, pending regulatory approvals. Qatar National Bank and United Arab Emirates’ Commercial Bank International acted as the issuing managers. Qtel’s board approved a 40% rights issue in March at QAR75 per share in a move to increase the company’s authorised share capital to QAR5 billion from QAR2 billion and help it fund overseas acquisitions.