Union Properties said on Tuesday its board was considering a buyback programme after its shares lost over 50 per cent of their value this year in a Gulf Arab stock market rout.

'The stock price is a very lucrative price to consider a share buyback programme. We are in discussions with the board of directors,' chief financial officer Zaid Ghoul told Reuters. 'The board is still considering it.'

Shares in Union Properties, which is also the subject of merger speculation, ended down 6.48 per cent on Tuesday.

Regulations in the UAE allow companies to buy back up to 10 per cent of their shares, once they get the approval of the regulator.

Union Properties' announcement comes amid sharp falls in property stocks in Dubai due to ongoing police probes into real estate companies, and the introduction of new rules to better regulate the emirate's booming property market.-Reuters