Dubai Shares Fall Most in World as Investors Wait for Debt Plan

Dubai stocks retreated the most in two weeks as investors waited for state-owned holding company Dubai World to present a debt restructuring plan.

Emirates NBD PJSC, a Dubai-government controlled lender, tumbled to its lowest level in seven months. Emaar Properties PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest construction company, fell for a second day. The DFM General Index dropped 3.8 percent, the biggest fluctuations among 89 indexes tracked globally by Bloomberg News, to 1,734.65 at 1:07 p.m. in Dubai. Dubai’s benchmark index has gained 6 percent this year.

Dubai World may present a “standstill” offer to banks in early January as it aims to restructure $22 billion of debt, said three bankers who attended a presentation on the matter earlier this week. The company told lenders it needs time to allow its assets to recover from a drop in value following the credit crunch, said the bankers, who declined to be identified because the meeting was private.