Shuaa row a test for regulators

Shuaa’s stock fell 4.7 per cent yesterday as the investment bank’s largest shareholder warned that its public feud with Dubai Banking Group over a Dh1.5 billion (US$408 million) convertible bond will test the UAE’s regulatory regime.

The dispute between Shuaa and the Dubai Banking Group (DBG) involves the bond that Shuaa issued to DBG in 2007.

The market regulator was forced to intervene in the row on Tuesday, suspending trading in Shuaa stocks after the Dubai-based bank said it was issuing 250 million shares to clear the debt – but DBG said it would refuse to accept them.