Dana Gas falls on upcoming court trial

Shares of Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas fell sharply yesterday after news that a London court hearing on its maturing sukuk issue would resume, while Qatar’s bourse bucked a general downtrend in the region.

After several delays last week, a London high court trial on the validity of US$700 million of sukuk issued by Dana will go ahead today.

Dana said in June it would not repay holders of its Islamic bond, or sukuk, because it had become invalid under the UAE law.

The case is being fought in UAE and British courts, and sukuk holders have been hoping the London court will produce a ruling that effectively shuts down Dana’s legal campaign in both jurisdictions.

The uncertainty knocked Dana’s shares 5.1 per cent lower yesterday.

“When creditors and shareholders are at odds in a legal hearing, this sends a bad signal,” said a regional fund manager.

Escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States weighed on Gulf markets in general, dragging the Abu Dhabi index 0.3 per cent lower.

The Dubai index fell 0.9 per cent as 27 shares declined including Emaar Properties, which lost 1.6 per cent. Only seven stocks rose.

Shares favoured by foreign funds weighed on Egypt’s blue-chip index, which fell 0.6 per cent; Global Telecom Holding lost 2.0 per cent.

But the broader EGX100 index added 0.7 per cent.

Qatar’s index rose 0.4 per cent as local and other regional investors were net buyers, bourse data showed, although the latter group accounted for only a very small fraction of Sunday’s market turnover.

The Qatari index gained for a fourth straight day, suggesting it may have bottomed after a steep slide due to the decision of four Arab states in June to cut ties with Doha.

Most banking shares rose on Sunday; Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan added 2.4 per cent.

Kuwait’s index dropped 0.8 per cent to 6,795 points, while Bahrain’s index edged down 0.3 per cent to 1,304 points.

The Saudi Arabian index Tadawul and Omani stock exchange were still closed for public holidays for the Islamic New Year yesterday.