Emaar Malls chief executive resigns

Rajiv Suri was appointed to the position in September, joining from department store chain Shoppers Stop

Emaar Malls is the owner of Dubai’s biggest shopping mall the Dubai Mall. Angus McComiskey / Alamy

Emaar Malls, a unit of Dubai’s biggest listed developer, Emaar Properties, said Rajiv Suri has resigned from his position as head of the company with immediate effect.

Mr Suri was appointed as the chief executive of Emaar Malls in September. He previously worked as chief executive of Shoppers Stop, a department store chain based in India.

"His responsibilities will be handled by Amit Jain until further notice," Emaar Malls said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade. The company did not provide further details.

Emaar Properties has recently been restructuring its top management in light of changes to UAE stock market rules separating the role of chairman from individuals with executive powers. Last month, Emaar named Mohamed Alabbar as its new managing director and Jamal Bin Theniyah as its new chairman.

Emaar Malls, the owner of Dubai Mall as well as Dubai Marina Mall and other shopping centres, reported a 60 per cent drop in third quarter net profit to Dh241 million as revenue fell 30 per cent to Dh1.18 billion. General and administrative expenses also rose during the period.

Like other sectors, retail was affected in the first half of last year when movement restrictions were introduced to contain the spread of the pandemic. However, business activity is returning to normal, with Dubai’s non-oil private sector economy posting growth last month, a survey by IHS Markit said on Monday.

The emirate has rolled out five stimulus packages worth Dh7.1bn to help offset the shock of the pandemic and the fallout in the form of job losses and disruption to businesses.

The UAE also launched a massive vaccination campaign that is expected to aid in the recovery of the economy and support the growth of various sectors.