A $1 billion stake sale in Saudi Arabia’s largest mobile phone operator is the latest sign that the market for follow-on equity offerings is picking up in the Middle East.The Public Investment Fund’s sale of a 2% stake in Saudi Telecom Co.

The share sale could raise as much as $1.1 billion for PIF based on STC's share price of 41.1 riyals ($10.94) at closing on Wednesday.

The sale represents 2 percent of PIF’s stake in STC and the price is around 6.5 percent lower than the share price at closing on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs Saudi Arabia and SNB Ca

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is selling part of its stake in the kingdom’s main mobile-phone operator as it tries to raise cash for the government’s trillion-dollar economic transformation plan.