Tuesday 22 December 2009

Dubai Shares Retreat a Fourth Day on Lack of Standstill Offer

Dubai shares dropped for a fourth day, led by Emirates NBD PJSC, as three bankers said Dubai World may not present a standstill offer to lenders until January.

Emirates NBD PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest bank, fell to the lowest in seven months. Union Properties PJSC declined the most in almost two weeks. The DFM General Index retreated 1.3 percent to 1,803.31, the lowest close since Dec. 13. The index has lost 14 percent since Dubai World’s request to restructure debt on Nov. 25. Dubai Financial Market, the only Gulf Arab stock exchange to sell shares to the public, rose after it offered to buy Nasdaq Dubai.

Dubai World, one of the emirate’s three main state-owned business groups, roiled markets after it sought to freeze or delay debt repayments until at least May 30. It will present a standstill offer to banks in early January as it attempts to restructure about $22 billion of debt, according to three bankers who attended a presentation on the matter yesterday.

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