Once Red-Hot, Dubai Real Estate Bonds Rack Up Steep Losses

Investors who rushed to lend money to real estate developers in the United Arab Emirates are nursing losses as the Iran war hammers their bonds and threatens to stall a borrowing binge.

Property companies had been leaning increasingly on the bond market as they raced to secure locations for residential projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With both cities under sustained attack from Iran, that debt is being sold off. UAE corporate bonds are the worst performers in emerging markets this month, with real estate names suffering the heaviest losses, according to a Bloomberg index.