Unrest in Egypt triggersdecline for Dana Gas

Hadeel al Sayegh

Dana Gas declined yesterday as foreign investors worried about the impact of protests in Egypt.

The gas explorer and producer declined as much as 4 per cent, closing at 71 fils. According to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange data, foreign investors sold US$2.6m in Dana Gas shares on Wednesday.

Analysts say the protests will not affect Dana operationally, but may lead to delays in payments.

"Operationally, we don't think this will cause any impact as Dana's operations are outside of Cairo," said Scott Darling, an analyst at Nomura in Dubai. "But they may face late payments on their hydrocarbons products from Egypt's national oil company." The main variable is how long the unrest will continue, he said. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index declined 0.3 per cent to 2,659.04.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.9 per cent to 1,612.63. Arabtec Holding lost 1.1 per cent to Dh1.78. Earlier in the trading session, the stock lost up to 3 per cent, only to rebound. Drake and Scull International, Dubai's second-biggest contractor, lost 2.6 per cent to Dh1.09.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure lost 0.4 per cent to 6,944.00, Bahrain added 0.8 per cent to 1,472.58. Oman's bourse was unchanged at 6,947.14 and Qatar's lost 0.8 per cent to 8,974.07. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was closed for the day.