Persian Gulf Shares Drop, Led by Financials; DIB, Aldar Retreat

By Glen Carey

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Persian Gulf shares declined, led by banks and real-estate companies as international investors exited the region's markets.

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC dropped to the lowest since April 2007, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC fell after it announced the appointment of a new chairman. Aldar Properties PJSC dropped the most in a week. Qatar Telecom QSC slumped to a 2004 low as it said it is seeking more shares in Indoesia's PT Indosat after the Asian country's Supreme Court threw out a legal challenge.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell for the third day, losing 3.2 percent to 4,122.34 at 1:37 p.m. local time, heading for its lowest close since August 2007. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 1.9 percent to 3,956.51. Qatar's Doha Securities Market Index dropped the most since Jan. 22, retreating 6.2 percent.

``We are still seeing large selling pressure on the market by international investors,'' Nadim Abou Jalad, a trader at Naeem Shares & Bonds in Dubai, said in a telephone interview. ``There is a lot of bad news about the real-estate sector, including all the corruption cases.''

Foreign investors were net sellers of 715 million dirhams ($194.8 million) of securities in the week ended Sept. 11 on the Dubai Financial Market, the bourse said yesterday.

Dubai Islamic

Morgan Stanley in August forecast a decline in Dubai real- estate prices. Dubai Islamic Bank, Tamweel PJSC, the United Arab Emirate's second-biggest mortgage lender by market value, and Deyaar Development PJSC, a real-estate company, have former employees under investigation by authorities for embezzlement.

Dubai Islamic Bank fell 7.8 percent to 5.9 dirhams, bringing the four-day slump to 15 percent. The bank said Sept. 11 that it had taken over land belonging to Plantation Projects to recover funds it lent to the company.

Tamweel dropped a sixth day, retreating 5.6 percent to 4.42 dirhams, and Deyaar lost 5.5 percent to 1.55 dirhams. Aldar, Abu Dhabi's biggest developer, lost 7.6 percent to 7.2 dirhams.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank tumbled 9.6 percent to 3.5 dirhams. The third-biggest bank in the U.A.E. appointed Eissa al-Suwaidi chairman, replacing Saeed al-Hajeri.

Qatar Telecom QSC slumped 7.5 percent to 146.2 riyals, its lowest close since June 2004. The company, which paid $1.8 billion in June to buy a 40.8 percent stake in PT Indosat, said the Indonesian Supreme Court had thrown out the legal challenge to its ownership of the stake. Qatar Telecom is in the process of starting a tender to buy more Indosat shares.

Al Mazaya Holding Co. fell 5 percent to 760 fils. The Kuwait property developer sold a 20 percent stake in its Saudi Arabian real-estate unit to Dubai Group.

Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index decreased 0.2 percent. The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index lost 2.1 percent. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index dropped 2.8 percent, while the Bahrain All Share Index retreated 2.3 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Dubai at gcarey8@bloomberg.net.