Dubai: Major Dubai construction firm Arabtec will hold a news conference on Wednesday to respond to market rumours about the company, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday. 
The news conference will be held at the Abu Dhabi offices of International Petroleum Investment Co (Ipic), which indirectly owns a major stake in Arabtec, at 2pm local time (1000 GMT). The brief statement did not elaborate. Shares in Arabtec, one of Dubai’s most heavily traded stocks, have plunged 63 per cent from a record high in May, pushed down by the abrupt resignation of chief executive Hasan Ismaik and uncertainty over its strategy and relationship with its key shareholders. The collapse has dragged down the entire Dubai stock market. Arabtec has issued a string of statements saying it will continue expanding and will protect shareholders’ rights, but it has not so far publicly addressed the strategy and ownership issues. The company’s shares rebounded on Tuesday, ending 10.3 per cent higher on Dubai’s bourse.