Arabtec files for bankruptcy petition with Dubai Court

Dubai - Construction major had posted an accumulated loss of Dh1.46b till September 2020

Arabtec Holding, a listed construction major, has filed a bankruptcy petition with the Dubai Court, the company said on Sunday.

The holding company said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM), where it is listed, that the bankruptcy petition has also been submitted for its subsidiaries Arabtec Construction LLC, Austrian Arabian Readymix Concrete Co. LLC, Arabtec Precast LLC and Emirates Falcon Electromechanical Co.

The company had also added its two other entities -- GSI Steel Construction Contracting LLC and Gulf Steel Industries FZE --- on March 1.

In September 2020, Arabtec Holding shareholders had authorised the board of the Dubai-listed construction company to file for liquidation due to its untenable financial position because of Covid-19 pandemic.

It had posted a first-half loss of Dh794 million (m) and total accumulated losses of Dh1.46 billion (b), it had said in September 2020.

The UAE law requires companies to vote on whether they should continue operating if their accumulated losses amount to half of their issued share capital.