Exit of Arabtec chief follows empty return from bold new approach

Hasan Ismaik oversaw an ambitious plan to elevate the Dubai contractor into a global player.

Hasan Ismaik's comparatively short time as the chief executive of Arabtec Holding coincided with an ambitious strategic transformation of the company, with the aim of competing in global markets for big ticket projects in oil and gas, engineering and infrastructure.

But his departure comes as the company has yet to see any major return from the new strategy, and could, some analysts say, slow Arabtec’s progress away from its origins as a UAE-based contractor.

Admittedly, the new look is still in its early days. One of the biggest deals under Mr Ismaik’s stewardship was the signing of a joint venture with Samsung Engineering, an arm of the South Korean conglomerate, to bid for contracts in the lucrative market for petrochemicals and energy installations in the Middle East and elsewhere.

At the signing ceremony in Seoul last September, Mr Ismaik said: “The launch of this company is a major milestone in our ambitious strategy to expand into new areas, in association with world-class partners, as part of our endeavour to consolidate our status as a key player at the regional and international levels.” However, the new partnership is yet to sign a deal.

Another Korean alliance, this time with GS Engineering and Construction, to pursue opportunities in the transport infrastructure, announced in February, is believed to be subject to final negotiation.

One analyst, who asked not to be named because of the “sensitive” nature of the Arabtec situation, said: “We’ve heard a lot about the new direction, but not actually seen very much. The change of top management could signal that the strategy might be reined in a bit.”

The job of implementing the new Arabtec strategy was the responsibility of a team under the former Deutsche Bank executive Shohidul Choudhury in his capacity as the head of mergers and acquisitions for the company.

However, in other areas, like personnel and financial structure, Arabtec has been thoroughly overhauled in readiness for its new global role. The original team that built Arabtec into one of the UAE’s most prominent contractors, until it hit trouble during the global financial crisis, has been replaced.

The company has been effectively recapitalised via rights issues and bond sales that could eventually raise more than Dh5 billion. It has returned to profitability and has a multibillion dollar order book, mainly in its traditional field of contracting.

The most eye-catching deal of Mr Ismaik's stewardship was a $40bn project to build one million new homes in Egypt.

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