Aldar's plans are hot topic on capital market

Investors are still waiting for an announcement on Aldar's funding 'framework' and selling shares or scooping them up depending on the latest rumour.

Aldar Properties was all traders were talking about on the Abu Dhabi exchange yesterday.

Aldar, the largest property developer in Abu Dhabi and the most actively traded stock on the capital's exchange, said in November it would have revealed a funding "framework" by the end of last year.

Yesterday, investors were still waiting for an announcement and selling shares or scooping them up depending on the latest rumour.

The shares have fluctuated wildly in the past two weeks. Bulletin boards for analysts are full of speculation and theories.

Chet Riley, an analyst at Nomura Securities, said yesterday he had little doubt a government restructuring package was imminent.

"We still believe there will be a government support package for Aldar and this could come in the form of a loan and possible asset sales.

"This could still be directly or through a government-related entity," he said.

Either way, the market is holding its breath.

Aldar's shares closed 2.04 per cent lower yesterday at Dh2.39. That decline nearly cancelled out a rise of 2.9 per cent on Sunday - Aldar's largest advance since December 12.

The shares are now trading at around the same level as when Aldar first announced it would reveal the nature of the funding support it would receive from the Government.

The developer posted a Dh731.2 million loss for the third quarter last year, largely due to slow sales, high expenditures and provisions for delayed payments from buyers of land and property.