As the bulls began a formidable stampede on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in January, Arabtec Holding was the heaviest of the herd.
Taking the beginning of the year as a starting point, the DFM General Index crossed the threshold of entering a bull market on February 23, having added 278.88 points during that period.
A bull market is defined as an increase of 20 per cent or more in the value of an index. By the time markets topped out later that month, the DFM had added a total of 400.81 points.
Arabtec's share price rise accounted for almost a quarter of those gains, market data showed.
The gains for the company's shares were enough to almost single-handedly propel the emirate into bull market territory by the end of February.
Arabtec is the third-biggest weighting in the DFM General Index after Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank, representing a weighting of 9.42 per cent.
Shares in the Dubai-listed construction company rallied as much as 128.3 per cent to highs of Dh3.45 each at the end of February.
During that time, the shares' run-up added 99.2 points to the DFM General Index.
Rumours that a big investor was quietly accumulating shares in the company was among the worst-kept secrets of the emirate's stock exchange at that time.
That investor was revealed yesterday to be Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments.
"This has been going on for some time," said Rami Sidani, a fund manager and the head of the Middle East and North Africa region at Schroders.
"Everyone knew in the markets that they'd bought more than 5 per cent … because they've been buying through different entities it was possible for them not to disclose the exact beneficiary."
Since the disclosure of quarterly earnings on Wednesday, Arabtec's stock has fallen 12 per cent.
On the way down, its shares were again the biggest factor moving markets - trimming 32.6 points from the index since markets peaked in March.
The DFM index as a whole declined 265.96 points during the same period.
Even accounting for the sell-off of the past few trading sessions, Arabtec remains the biggest single mover on the DFM General Index of the year, accounting for about half of the gains on the index so far.
ghunter@thenational.ae
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
RESULTS
West Asia Premiership
Thursday
Jebel Ali Dragons 13-34 Dubai Exiles
Friday
Dubai Knights Eagles 16-27 Dubai Tigers
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The view from The National
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
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Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
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Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
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Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.