Al Rayyan Bank will not become operational until the second half of the year but this did not deter Gulf investors, who had to either travel to Qatar or send their passports through a friend or associate, as there is no system of electronic applications. One hopeful investor is reported to have turned up with 100 passports in a desperate attempt not to miss out on allocations.
The IPO will be the largest in the Gulf, although the lack of listings in the region means that almost all deals are massively oversubscribed – a far cry from some European companies, which have just about managed to limp across the line in recent years. Wembley Stadium, anyone?