‘Debt talks with Dubai firm delayed’

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s PT Bakrieland Development, the Bakrie Group’s property arm, said on Wednesday that talks with a Dubai property firm over a $110 million strategic investment have been postponed again.

Bakrieland in 2008 agreed to sell a 30 per cent stake in its subsidiary, PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama, to Dubai World’s property arm, Limitless Holding, for $110 million but so far, the Dubai company has only paid $37 million.

At the time of the deal, which took place at the height of the global financial crisis, the Bakrie Group faced financial difficulties.

Now Limitless and Dubai World have been hit by the sharp fall in property prices in Dubai, prompting the Dubai government to intervene and inject emergency funds.

Bakrieland said in January that Limitless would offer a new deal on the partnership, but so far no agreement has been reached and talks have been delayed. “The talks have been extended until the next one or two weeks as Limitless is waiting for guidance from the chief restructuring officer from Dubai World to proceed with the deal,” Hiramsyah Thaib, Bakrieland’s president director, told Reuters.

He said that other international investors had expressed an interest in joining the project but did not identify any of the potential partners.

The property sector in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy could get a huge boost this year as the government may lift restrictions on foreign ownership of property, while the central bank’s key policy rate is at a record low of 6.5pc.