Emaar Declines Most Since 2000 on Bailout Concerns

By Matthew Brown and Ayesha Daya

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Emaar Properties PJSC, the Middle East's biggest publicly traded real-estate company, lost the most since 2000 on concerns that the U.S. bank bailout won't be enough to stop the global credit crisis reaching Dubai.

Emaar fell as much as 13.9 percent to 6.67 dirhams in Dubai, the biggest one-day drop since March 2000, according to Bloomberg data. It traded at 6.84 dirhams at 1:30 p.m. local time.

``Emaar lacks any catalyst to trigger an upward move this year,'' Ahmed Badr, research analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG, said in a telephone interview from Dubai today. ``We can see healthy earnings only next year when Emaar projects such as Burj Dubai and Saudi ventures contribute to its profit.''

Credit Suisse has a ``neutral'' recommendation on the stock with a 12-month target of 9.25 dirhams. Emaar said yesterday it plans to build a 27 billion riyal ($7.2 billion) project in Saudi Arabia with Al-Shoala Group of Establishment.

Property stocks fell across the U.A.E. today. Aldar Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi's largest property developer, declined 9.9 percent to 7.18 dirhams. Deyaar Development PJSC, a Dubai-based real-estate developer, declined 5 percent to 1.53 dirhams after it announced a 56 percent rise in third-quarter profit today.

Sorouh, an Abu Dhabi-based property developer, declined 10 percent to 6.12 dirhams. Union Properties, a Dubai-based developer, fell 7.7 percent.

``The U.S. market sold off after the bailout bill was passed on Friday so people are thinking that it's not going to be the savior they originally thought,'' Robert Mckinnon, managing director at Al Mal Capital PSC, said in a telephone interview from Dubai. ``Trading on real estate stocks is driven by concerns about liquidity at the moment.''

Home prices in Dubai, the second-biggest of the seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, are likely to remain flat until 2010 after five years of steep gains, Colliers CRE Plc said today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Brown in Dubai at mbrown42@bloomberg.net; Ayesha Daya in Dubai adaya1@bloomberg.net