On September 30, one of the largest UAE-based construction companies, Arabtec Holding, announced its plans to file for liquidation and dissolution due to “the company’s untenable financial situation”. The announcement came after the company in August reported a net loss of AED 794 million ($216.2 million) for the first half of the current year, mainly affected by ‘limited liquidity’ in the real estate and construction sectors. Meanwhile, in 2019 the company saw a net loss of AED 774 million ($211 million), versus a profit of AED 256 million ($70 million) in 2018.
Following the news of the approaching liquidation of one of the UAE’s key steel contractors, concerns in the market have increased significantly.
"They failed to adapt to the current market conditions... Although they have not had major projects for a long time, the news will certainly affect the overall sentiments in the market. Investors' confidence will be shattered", an Emirati trader commented. "After Arabtec announced its liquidation, market sentiment has worsened even more. It seems liquidity is a major issue these days," the representative of another UAE-based trading company commented.