Nakheel seeks bond suspension, markets fall

Dubai's property developer Nakheel, part of the Dubai World conglomerate, has asked for a suspension of trading on all its Islamic bonds traded on NasdaqDubai bourse, the latter said on its website today. "Nakheel has today asked for all three of their listed Sukuks (Nakheel Development Limited, Nakheel Development 2 Limited, Nakheel Development 3 Limited) to be suspended until it is in a position to fully inform the market," NasdaqDubai said on its website.

It said the request came following the Dubai government's announcement on Wednesday that it intends to request a freeze on Dubai World's debt repayments. Dubai's stock market plunged 5.94 per cent at opening of trading today after a long holiday. Major securities listed on Dubai's stock market, including construction and banking shares, dropped almost to the maximum-allowed limit of 10 per cent following huge offers, the bourse website said. Shares in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange nosedived 7.4 per cent at the start of trading, the bourse website said. Just minutes after opening of trade, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Index was trading at 2,690.58 points from Wednesday's close of 2,910.16 points, a slide of more than 215 points. Real estate, telecoms and energy sectors were the biggest losers, dropping 9.9 per cent, 9.73 per cent and 9.67 per cent respectively. * AFP