Emaar Plans Dubai, London Listing For Retail Unit

Dubai’s Emaar Properties plans to list its shopping malls and retail unit in both Dubai and London, the company’s chairman Mohamed Alabbar was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

“This will be a dual listing. We are a Dubai company so we have to be in Dubai, but we will list in London. I would like to do this quickly and am shooting for before Ramadan,” Arabian Business magazine quoted Alabbar as saying in an interview.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will start near the end of June this year.

In Dubai, the listing will occur on Nasdaq Dubai, the smaller of the emirate’s two stock exchanges, Alabbar was quoted as confirming in the interview.

Asked to comment on the report, an Emaar spokesperson later told Reuters: “Emaar is planning a proposed secondary listing of up to 25 per cent of the shares of Emaar’s malls business in the next one year, depending on market conditions.

“Emaar is considering the options of various listing venues including Dubai and London stock markets.”

On Saturday, Dubai’s largest listed property developer said it would list 25 percent of its shopping malls and retail unit in a public offer expected to raise between eight and nine billion dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion).

Alabbar has also said Emaar is preparing for a public offer of its wholly owned Egyptian unit, Emaar Misr, and will consider listing other units such as its hotels business.

“Today I can’t see other segments, but then someday we might say should Downtown be a separate listed company?” he was quoted as saying by Arabian Business, referring to one of Emaar’s flagship developments in Dubai.

“It all depends on the financials and the value it will bring for our shareholders. The value of At The Top is incredibly high,” he said, referring to the observation deck of the Emaar-built Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in Dubai.

“Maybe someday people will want to be shareholders in that. If it makes value for our shareholders, our board will consider it,” he said.