Shares in Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR), which is building a $2.9 billion amusement park complex in the emirate, opened sharply below their initial public offer price as they listed on Wednesday.

The drop was a fresh sign of a collapse of sentiment among retail investors in Dubai, who have dumped stocks as oil prices have hit five-year lows in recent weeks.

The stock opened at 0.931 dirham, below the Dh1 IPO price. It then fell further to 0.87 dirham as Dubai's main stock index slid 0.9 percent in early trade.

It was the second case in Dubai in recent weeks of a stock opening below its IPO price. Shares in Amanat Holdings, a healthcare and education start-up which listed at the end of last month, are still trading below their IPO price of Dh1.

DPR's share offer was many times oversubscribed and drew the attention of sovereign wealth funds Kuwait Investment Authority and Qatar Investment Authority. But the portion of the IPO allocated to Dubai's retail investors, who dominate trading in the emirate, was only 1.63 times oversubscribed, much lower than offers earlier this year such as Emaar Malls Group.

Essa Kazim, the chairman of Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Abdulla Al Habbai, the chairman of Dubai Parks and Resorts and senior representatives from both sides attended the listing ceremony.

"We are delighted to welcome the listing of Dubai Parks and Resorts, the first entertainment theme park owner to go public and list on DFM, opening the door for our vast base of local and international investors to participate in the spectacular success story of Dubai," stated Kazim.

He pointed out that Dubai had rapidly reinforced its position over the past years as a key destination attracting visitors from all over the world.

"In 2013, Dubai has attracted 11 million visitors with a growth of 10.6 per cent and their total spending reached Dh48 billion ($13 billion) representing 10 per cent of GDP," noted Kazim.

"Dubai’s tourism spending is expected to increase to Dh80 billion ($21.7 billion) by 2020 representing 15.4 per cent of GDP while the total number of visitors is expected to reach 20 million by the same year, he added.

Raed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Dubai Parks and Resorts, described it as an exciting day for the company. "The listing on DFM marks an important milestone towards achieving our objectives and brings us one step closer to our vision of developing a premier year-round global entertainment destination," he remarked.

"Against a background of strong macroeconomic fundamentals and favourable demographic trends, we see Dubai Parks and Resorts as well positioned to meet increasing visitor demand for leisure and entertainment, both locally and regionally, and should be able to capitalise on the projected growth in tourists to Dubai and the UAE," he stated.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service