The UAE's biggest publicly-listed construction company, Arabtec, made its name during Dubai's 30 year construction-fuelled rise to the top, building many of the city's best-known developments. When the bubble burst, Arabtec - owed an estimated $550m in receivables from Dubai government developers - looked seriously shaky, at one point agreeing to be taken over by an Abu Dhabi government investment fund at a big discount to its share price at the time.
That takeover didn't materialise, and Arabtec has spent the last two years emphasising its diversification across the region, and away from high-end residential developments into more reliable infrastructure projects.
This year alone, the company has won four big contracts - all outside of Dubai - worth a total of $630m. And as Shuaa Capital explained in a note on Wednesday, while an estimated 44 per cent of its active projects were in Dubai at the end of 2010:
Dubai backlog contribution continues to diminish, 72% of the current effective backlog is now outside the emirate. Saudi Arabia makes up the largest share at 31% followed by Dubai at 28% and Abu Dhabi with 19%. Qatar and Kuwait add around 9% each, leaving the balance of 4% distributed among Egypt, Bahrain and the Levant countries.
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