Emaar puts listing plans to bed, for now.

Emaar puts listing plans to bed, for now.

January 16, 2013 9:54 by Reuters

Emaar Properties, the emirate’s largest listed property developer, has no immediate plans to spin off its malls business or its Turkish unit, a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday.

Emaar, builder of the world’s largest mall, will list its malls unit on the emirate’s bourse when market conditions are favourable and it plans a listing for its Turkish unit in Istanbul, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources that it did not identify. No timeframe for the listing was provided in the article.

“There are no plans for such listings in the immediate term and any such decisions will be taken based on strategic requirements of the Group, and subject to all mandatory approvals,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Another source close to the company told Reuters that a spin-off of the malls business was an option that Emaar had considered in the past, but it was unlikely to happen for now because of soft stock market conditions in the United Arab Emirates.

The developer has shifted its focus in recent years away from the emirate’s property market and towards its more profitable retail and hospitality business.