Solidere to delist its GDRs

Listing costs outweigh

low trading volumes

Solidere said it has asked to delist its Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) effective June 29, 2017, due to low trading volumes.

Given the GDRs limited liquidity, the costs and administrative burdens are disproportionate to the benefits that could be derived from keeping them listed, the real estate company said in a statement.

The GDRs, which represent Solidere’s ‘A’ shares, were listed on the LSE in 1996.

The ‘A’ shares will remain listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE), said Solidere, whose full name is the Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District.

The measures will also include the termination of the GDR deposit agreements signed between Solidere and depository bank, the Bank of New York Mellon. GDR holders may ask the depositary bank to deliver the shares underlying their GDRs, the company said.

Besides the 100 million ‘A’ shares, Solidere has 65 million shares of class ‘B’ listed on the BSE, which is awaiting a significant revamp this year to boost its usually weak trading activity. The move will include privatizing the BSE and launching an electronic trading platform.

Solidere’s shares, which are sensitive to political developments, traded at very low volumes on Friday. Its ‘A’ shares closed higher 0.3 percent at $8.95 while its ‘B’ shares dropped 3.2 percent ending the day at $8.69.