Gulf stock markets rose on Tuesday after oil prices edged up and mortgage company Amlak Finance, which dominated activity in Dubai, pared early losses to close flat as it resumed trading following a suspension of nearly six years.

Trading in Amlak, part-owned by Dubai's biggest developer Emaar Properties, was halted in 2008 as credit markets dried up and the emirate's real estate prices crashed. The shares plunged 79 percent in the six months before their suspension.

Early in the day, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) welcomed the resumption of Amlak Finance share trading following an opening bell ringing ceremony that took place in the presence of chairman Essa Kazim, Ali Ibrahim Mohammed, the chairman of Amlak Finance and Arif Alharmi, the managing director of Amlak Finance in addition to senior officials from both sides.

Amlak, which was not bound by the usual daily fluctuation limits on Tuesday, swung between a 23.5 per cent loss and an 8.8 per cent gain before closing at the same level where it had last traded in November 2008.

It accounted for almost a third of the day's total traded value on Dubai's bourse, whose main index rose 1.2 per cent.

The outlook for Amlak and the general business environment has improved greatly since 2008, but the company still faces financial pressures. It blamed amortisation charges for a 77 percent drop in first-quarter profit this year - a sum of 911 million dirhams ($248 million) related to its restructuring will be amortised over 12 years.

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, the UAE Minister of Economy and the chairman of the ‘Committee to Assess the Condition of some Public Shareholding Companies of the UAE’, said: "I am pleased that this final step in Amlak’s restructuring process has been completed, allowing the company to return to normal business operations and bring full transparency to its shareholders and the Dubai financial markets as a whole."

"The Steering Committee worked closely with the senior management of the Company throughout the restructuring period, evaluating a number of alternative solutions before reaching a balanced and amicable restructuring package aimed at protecting all stakeholders as well as the Dubai financial market and economy.  The completion of this important restructuring is a clear example of the Government and private sector working successfully together to achieve common goals," he added.

Commenting on the share resumption, Kazim said: "We are delighted to see the shares of Amlak Finance, the leading Islamic finance company in the UAE and one of the most important issuers on DFM, back on our trading screens."

"Undoubtedly, this step represents a positive development for investors; particularly that Amlak Finance has a large investor base of 29,000 shareholders as enables DFM investors to participate in one of the key sectors in the UAE. This significant milestone highlights the efforts the company’s management has made, over the past years, to finalize the restructuring," he noted.

Mohammed thanked the steering committee and Amlak’s board for their ongoing support and guidance, and also the shareholders for their patience and unwavering support in the last EGM and AGM. "They have played a critical role in paving the way for this milestone," he added.

Alharmi said: "This is a significant milestone for us. After nearly seven years of suspension, Amlak’s shares have been re-admitted to the DFM, providing us with the opportunity to contribute to the Dubai financial market’s overall performance as well as resume full regulatory reporting and compliance. We continue to strive to deliver long term value for our shareholders and we fully intend to adhere to our commitments with our financiers as part of the restructuring arrangements agreed in November 2014. “

Trading resumed on Amlak’s share based on the last closing price before suspension (Dh1.02) and the stock was exempted from the price cap of 15 per cent up and 10 per cent down during the first session only, so that investors can price the shares flexibly considering the lack of any recent price discovery from the investors, said the company in its statement.

DFM will study the inclusion of Amlak Finance shares into the DFM General Index and the Sub-index of the banking sector after a month of trade resumption, subject to the index rules, it added.-TradeArabia News Service