More jobs face axe at Dubai's Shuaa - shares take a dive

Markets Update: Shuaa Capital's stock price slumps to eight year low after the Dubai investment bank announced another quarter of losses and job cuts.

Shuaa Capital has signalled further job losses as it scales back its brokerage business, sending its share price into a tailspin on Dubai's market this morning.

Inside the trading:

DIFC All the action on companies based in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Learn more

The Dubai-based investment bank, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, said it was seeking "a recalibration of budgets and a significant headcount reduction" at its underperforming brokerage division. The company cut 39 jobs in May, equivalent to 10.7 per cent of its workforce. Shuaa's share price fell 6 per cent to 70 fils each in early trading, the lowest in eight years.

The investment bank announced losses for the third quarter of Dh156.2m on Thursday, down from a profit of Dh190,000 during the same period last year.

"Shuaa Securities' retail business has been running at a net loss for the past two years," the company said in a statement. "Shuaa Capital's board of directors has resolved and will seek approval from regulators to implement its strategic plan to shift away from retail brokerage and focus predominantly on serving institutional clients and high-net worth individuals."

Shuaa had delayed the release of its financial statements last week, citing the effect of strategic decisions made at the company's board meeting on the bank's financial statements

Dubai's broader market, the DFM General Index declined 0.2 per cent to 1375.87 points. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index lost 0.5 per cent to 2460.86 points.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure lost 0.2 per cent to 5845.30 points. Bahrain's measure was unchanged at 1168.30 points. Oman's measure was little changed at 5518.17 points. Qatar's benchmark was flat at 8743.09 points. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.3 per cent to 6198.87 points.