Emaar IPO plan hits Dubai stocks

Dubai : Dubai’s leading real estate developer, Emaar Properties, pulled the emirate’s stock index lower yesterday while Saudi Arabia’s index again retreated from major technical resistance.

The Dubai index lost 0.8 per cent to 3,644 points, pulling back from resistance on the August peak of 3,681. Emaar slid 2.1pc after saying it expected to sell 20pc of its local property development unit Emaar Development LLC next month in an initial public offer.

Previously, Emaar had said it would offer up to 30pc of the business, distributing funds raised as dividends to shareholders in the parent company.

It did not reveal on Sunday why the sale was now expected to be only 20pc, but investors assumed its decision would mean a smaller dividend - and might indicate demand for the IPO was only lukewarm, thanks to a slumping Dubai property market.

Elsewhere in Dubai, GFH Financial climbed 1.8pc and was Dubai’s most heavily traded stock after the United Arab Emirates securities regulator approved the listing of Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank, subject to approval by the Bahrain central bank.

GFH owns 47pc of Khaleeji, and has long been aiming to list the bank in Dubai. Shares in Dubai’s Shuaa Capital, which owns 14pc of Khaleeji, were flat; Khaleeji shares fell 1.8pc in Bahrain in very thin volume.

In Saudi Arabia, the index slipped 0.5pc to 6,975 points, retreating from resistance on the 200-day average, now at 7,035 points. Bank Albilad fell 1.8pc after reporting a quarterly profit rise of 9pc, in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Dairy firm Almarai climbed 0.5pc, however, after its quarterly net profit of 667 million riyals ($177.9 million), versus 664.3 million a year earlier, beat the 621 million riyal forecast on average by analysts in a Reuters poll.

In Abu Dhabi, the index edged down 0.2pc but Eshraq Properties rose 1.3pc after reporting a third-quarter net profit of 685,000 dirhams ($187,000) following a year-earlier loss of 48.5 million dirhams.

Qatar’s index was down 0.2pc but Qatar First Bank, which has been trading near its lowest levels since it listed in April 2016, jumped 7.1pc in its heaviest trade since the listing. It was the market’s most heavily traded stock.

In Egypt, the index barely moved but Juhayna Food Industries surged 7.6pc after reporting a 12pc rise in third-quarter consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders. In the first half of the year, its profits had dropped.