ABU DHABI: The former chief executive of major Dubai construction firm Arabtec, who abruptly resigned from the company this week, said he has no plans to sell his 28.85 percent stake.
Hasan Ismaik left Arabtec’s board on Wednesday, resigning as chief executive at the same time, and ending a tumultuous few weeks for the company in which its shares plunged and major shareholder Aabar Investments cut its stake. The selling dragged down the entire Dubai stock market. “I will keep it,” Ismaik said when asked if he would now seek to offload his stake in Arabtec, which at current market prices is worth about $1.47bn. “I am an investor. I believe in the company, Arabtec has great potential.”
Asked again whether he might sell the stake, Ismaik replied: “No, I will hold my shares and I have not decided yet about when I should sell.”
He did not say how he had financed his holdings in the company. In late May, Arabtec said Ismaik had raised his stake to 21.46 percent from 8.03 percent; on Sunday this week, bourse data showed the stake had risen further to 28.85 percent.
Forbes magazine said this month that Ismaik, 37, had become the first Jordanian billionaire — and the third-youngest billionaire in the Middle East — because of his holdings of Arabtec shares. Reuters
