Dubai: Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based developer, plans to sell as much as 30 per cent of its real estate development business in the UAE in an initial public offering (IPO).

The funds raised will primarily be distributed as a dividend to Emaar’s shareholders, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The shares of the unit will also be listed on the Dubai Financial Market and the sale is subject to market conditions.

The IPO would be the largest in the UAE since Emaar Malls raised $1.58 billion (Dh5.8 billion) in an offering in 2014.

Emaar has handed over around 34,000 units in Dubai since 2001 and currently has a land bank of 24 million square metres in the UAE.