Port operator DP World, part of troubled state-owned company Dubai World, is seeking a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a bid to improve the valuation of its shares.

The company is currently listed on Nasdaq Dubai, following its flotation in November 2007. According to a DP World statement on 6 January, it said it hopes to complete its second listing in the second quarter.

In March 2009, the company said it had started to look at options to address the poor performance of its shares on Nasdaq Dubai.

When the company floated 20 per cent of its shares on the local market, it was valued at $1.30 a share. They have since fallen to less than one-third of that, trading at $0.43 a share on 6 January.

The exchange’s low volumes of liquidity has been blamed for the company’s low valuation.

On 4 January, the company said it made a periodic coupon payment of $59m on its $1.75bn bond due in 2037.

DP World is not involved in restructuring about $22bn of debt associated with its parent company Dubai World.