Gulf Investors for Facebook IPO

The much awaited Facebook IPO (Initial Public Offering) is here. Reports quoting sources from the company have marked May 18 as the public launch date for Facebook IPO. According to the Wall Street Journal the roadshow for Facebook Inc's IPO is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company's shares should begin trading on May 18. Quoting a source familiar with the process, the report said its CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be attending the roadshow and will also be closely involved in the process. Zuckerberg who was absent during an analysts’ meeting in March is, however, expected to participate during this roadshow. Many investors from the UAE too have been keenly watching the launch of the IPO and have already instructed their fund managers to get on the task. “I have been waiting since the first announcement was made in December. I have filled out the form. Although I am not sure of getting it due tosuch high demand. I am planning to invest anywhere between $150,000 to 200,000,”said Rai Gaga. In what is termed as the most awaited tech-related IPO launch after Google, Facebook is set to raise at least $5 billion from the public offering. Last month the company announced it is buying the mobile sharing application Instagram for $1billion. Facebook's net income dropped by 12 per cent during the first quarter of 2012 to $205 million from $233 million a year earlier. However the company’s revenue increased 45 per cent to $1.06 billion. Meanwhile, according to All things Digital, th tech blog that first put out the news of the May 18 IPO launch said, that although Facebook itself may not be making much money it has been driving traffic to several other websites. Quoting a Facebook blog it said, Facebook sent more than 160 million visitors last month to mobile apps compared to just 60 million in late February while these visitors were responsible for more than 1.1 billion visits to mobile apps in the same time frame.