Dubai's market retreated to its lowest point in more than a month as concerns over the global and regional economy prompted investors to sell their shares.
More Business news: Editor's pick of today's headlines
Last Updated: May 23, 2011
UAE consumers among world's most optimistic Consumer confidence soars in the Middle East, which researchers attribute to a feel-good factor following the easing of the region's political unrest. Read article
Chinese security company leaves Nasdaq Dubai A Chinese security firm is removing its shares from trading on the Nasdaq Dubai, bringing the number of stocks listed there to 10. Read article
Saudi offers assistance to Egypt Egypt receives an offer of $4bn in aid from Saudi Arabia to help stabilise its economy. Read article
Corporate fraudsters in the Gulf being caught in greater numbers Instances of corporate fraud are plentiful in the Gulf, according to a new survey from Deloitte Corporate Finance. Read article
The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 2 per cent to 1,546.65 points as shares in Emaar Properties, Dubai Islamic Bank and the only publicly listed Gulf market, DFM Company fell to new lows, weighing on the wider benchmark.
Shares in those companies slipped 3.2 per cent to Dh3.04, 2.3 per cent to Dh2.10, and 4 per cent to Dh1.20 respectively.
Industry experts said the decision by the Dubai government to cut spending by up to 25 per cent to help the emirate achieve a budget surplus of Dh3 billion to Dh3.5bn had impacted confidence and liquidity in the market.
"You need two things to stimulate the markets," said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Al Fajr Securities.
"You need to have government spending and secondly you have to have relaxed monetary policy to increase liquidity [in the market]," he said.
Gulf General Investment Company fell to its lowest level since April 14 after it emerged the Dubai-based investment company defaulted on repayments on bank loans.
GGICO retreated 6.5 per cent to 33 fils a day after the company said it defaulted on almost Dh500 million in repayments of bank loans.
The company had posted a narrowing of first quarter loss to Dh48.8m after a loss of Dh85m a year earlier. It hired HSBC Middle East as an adviser to restructure its debts due to banks.
In the capital, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange slipped 0.6 per cent to 2,631.83 points.
Elsewhere in the region Doha's market fell nearly 2 per cent to 8,441.35 points.
