Dubai contractor asgc is said to delay IPO plan on weak market

Dubai: Al Shafar General Contracting (ASGC) has put on hold its plan to sell shares in an initial public offering in Dubai amid weak market conditions, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Dubai-based construction company, which is helping build an island designed to feature the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, explored a share sale before deciding the timing isn’t conducive to a successful offering, the people said. They asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Emirates NBD PJSC and Egyptian Financial Group-Hermes Holding Co. were hired to arrange the IPO, said the people. The contractor, which was established in 1989 by an Egyptian engineer and a United Arab Emirates national, has completed projects including the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Palm Jumeirah. Its current pipeline includes a Nestle SA factory in the UAE.

“As a matter of policy, ASGC does not comment on its capital-raising plans,” the company said in an emailed statement Wednesday. Goldman Sachs and Emirates NBD declined to comment, while EFG-Hermes wasn’t immediately available to comment.

Dubai’s benchmark stock index is down 26 per cent in the past 12 months.