Anyone, regardless of background, could buy shares in the flotation of previously nationalised industries.

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The State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI), which is responsible for privatisations, cut the price of the shares by 40% ahead of the flotation in an attempt to attract investors made nervous by the global stock market slowdown.

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The Russian central bank owns 24% of the stock exchange, but will not be selling any of its shares in the flotation.

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It seems to me that the best way of seeing what the investment institutions are proposing is as a short cut to something that's not a million miles from an IPO - since these are exactly the kind of funds that would buy the shares in a stock market flotation.

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Its flotation was originally scheduled to take place in May, but was postponed because of the sharp drop in technology shares in March and April.

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