DI to offload 30% of Masharie in H1

Dubai Investments, a well-diversified conglomerate, aims to launch initial public offering of its subsidiary Masharie Company in the middle of next year and will offload 30 per cent stake, said a senior company official.

Exact evaluation is being conducted with regard to the value of the company and the percentage amount to be offloaded through IPO, said Khalid Bin Kalban, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Investments.

Masharie is intended to be listed on Nasdaq Dubai where companies can offload stake less than 55 per cent and will trade in dirham rather than the US dollar as it will also be traded on Dubai Financial Market via electronic linkage with Nasdaq Dubai, Kalban told Arabic newspaper Al Khaleej.

Nasdaq Dubai, the Gulf’s first exchange open to investors and issuers of any nationality, is still in talks with the UAE’s central bank about trading in the country’s dirham currency, chief executive officer Jeff Singer told reporters last month.

He said Masharie has expanded its scope to neighbouring countries.

Dubai Investments reported a 19.8 per cent drop in third quarter net profit last week as contract revenue and rental income fell.

The firm made a net profit of Dh213.6 ($58.17) for the three months ended Sept. 30, down from Dh266.19 million in the same period last year it said in a statement.

DI, in which the emirate's sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai has a stake, derives most of its revenues from the UAE and neighbouring Gulf countries.