Emaar gets rule exemption to float mall business on DFM

|By TAP Staff| The listing of Emaar Properties mall business on Dubai Financial Market instead of Nadaq Dubai as originally envisaged would necessitate an exemption from the DFM rule regarding the minimum size of the float.

Emaar is floating only 25 percent of the mall business, while the minimum float required for a listing on DFM is 55 percent. Nasdaq Dubai, on the other hand, allows floatation of 25 percent and upwards. The listing of a high-profile scrip representing a key component of Emaar’s business is obviously a prestigious addition to the DFM portfolio, a consideration that may have prompted the authorities to grant exemption.

Emaar says it has already received regulatory approval for the primary listing of its mall business on DFM. This means that it has been granted exemption from the 55 percent threshold rule. Company officials previously said there might be a dual listing on Nasdaq Dubai, the smaller of the emirate’s two exchanges, and on the London Stock Exchange.

It was not clear whether the company still plans to list in London.

Emaar said in a statement that the timing of the offering and listing would be announced later, the statement said.

It is expected to raise 8 to 9 billion dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion), making it one of the region’s largest equity offers since 2008.

Dubai luxury developer DAMAC, the only real estate firm from the emirate to list in London, got a lukewarm response to its share offering in a sign that international investors are still wary of the emirate’s property market despite a recent recovery in prices, according to Reuters.

Sources told Reuters in April that the developer is talking to regulators about the possibility of listing its shopping malls unit on the DFM.

The listing is a boost for the Dubai bourse where new IPO activity had died down after the emirate’s financial crisis in 2009. A recovery in the economy has prompted more companies to consider new listings.