Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar has hit out over claims from rival developer Damac that the company continues to “dump” properties on the market – and that all new home construction in Dubai should be halted for two years.

In a telephone interview with Arabian Business, Alabbar - when quizzed about comments made by a Damac boss to Bloomberg – said: “I don’t know what interview anyone has given to anyone else. I am focused on our customers, the quality of our construction, our technology, our people and our strategy for the future.”

When told that the Damac executive had pointed, in the Bloomberg interview, to Emaar as the main culprit in oversupply, and that Emaar’s payment plans had encouraged speculation, Alabbar laughed off the claims, saying: “Really? Maybe if your Q2 profits were down by nearly 90 percent, it’s difficult to focus. I know what I am focused on, which is delivering the results Emaar customers and shareholders expect.”

Dubai developer calls for property supply freeze Damac chairman Hussain Sajwani fears consequences as oversupply issues continue

Damac’s latest figures revealed an 87 percent plunge in Q2 profits to $13.7m with revenues falling 46 percent to $264m. After the results were published, EFG Hermes said: “Management indicated that there was a new launch in Business Bay (Zada) during the quarter, yet we see reported sales very weak, especially versus the overall resale market activity during the period and compared to its peer, Emaar Development, which reported sales of AED3,542m during the quarter (almost six times that of Damac’s).”