Equity investors in the Middle East, traditionally starved of exposure to the local water sector, will have pricked up their ears at the news that the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is planning to float on the stock exchange through an upcoming IPO (see story p28). The move appears to be aimed at kickstarting the emirate's sluggish stock exchange rather than specifically at restructuring utility services. If successful, the issue will be followed by further IPOs of public bodies, but it does stand as a sign of the respect that utilities and their role in the broader environmental situation can command.
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