‘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.

Dubai World asks for up to eight years to pay off debt

  














 Troubled group gets $9.5bn bailout from Dubai govt

DUBAI: Dubai World proposed on Thursday to repay its creditors in full by issuing two tranches of new debt maturing in five and eight years, after months of talks on restructuring sovereign liabilities that had rattled world markets.

The announcement came shortly after the government of Dubai committed to pump up to 9.5 billion dollars in further support for the troubled group, helping the emirate’s main stock market index to a 4.5 per cent rise by midday

DP World profits fell 46.3pc in 2009

DUBAI: Dubai’s port operator DP World announced on Wednesday a 46.3-per cent slide in 2009 profits compared with the previous year, saying however that the earnings were better than expected.

Net profits plunged to 333 million dollars last year compared with 621 million dollars posted the year before despite declining business in 2008, a company statement said. Revenues also dropped, from 3.28 billion dollars in 2008 to 2.82 billion dollars last year.

Dealmakers meet to sort $26bn Dubai World debt

DUBAI: Bankers gathered in Dubai on Wednesday to hammer out a $26 billion debt plan with state-owned Dubai World as a repayment deadline loomed, adding to pressure on the glitzy emirate to settle the conglomerate’s debt.

Core creditors representing 97 banks met to finalise months of talks on how Dubai World can restructure the debt, about a quarter of Dubai’s estimated total debt of $101 billion. Markets anticipated a deal favourable to lenders, with the cost of insuring Dubai sovereign debt falling and bond prices rising for Dubai World unit Nakheel, the property firm that built a giant island replica of the Earth.

Nakheel woes may prompt better bankruptcy laws

DUBAI: The trillion dollar Islamic finance industry is looking beyond the troubles of Dubai developer Nakheel at possible reforms that could help draw more interest from Western players.
Dubai World rocked the global markets in November when it asked for a delay in repaying $26 billion in debt. A $4.1 billion sukuk, or Islamic bond, from its unit Nakheel staved off default thanks to a bailout from Abu Dhabi.

But Nakheel put a negative spotlight on Islamic finance as global markets began to wonder if the Islamic structure of the deal was to blame.

Japanese firms slow construction of Dubai Metro

Friday, January 08, 2010
TOKYO: A consortium led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has put the brakes on construction work on the Dubai Metro due to a disagreement over payments, one of the firms said on Thursday.

“We are slowing the pace of the construction for the purpose of negotiating the terms of contracts,” said Toshitaka Kawahara, a spokesman for Obayashi Corp, which is one of the constructors.

Dubai's port firm seeking stock listing in London

DUBAI: Dubai's port operator said it plans to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, aiming for additional investors as its troubled parent Dubai World struggles to dig out from a pile of debt.

DP World said it could seek the listing as early as the second quarter of 2010. The cargo handler ranks as one of the world's biggest container terminal operators, running the Middle East's largest port in Dubai and 48 other seaports around the world.

Dubai’s DP World to seek London share listing

Thursday, January 07, 2010
DUBAI: Port operator DP World, part of troubled group Dubai World, said on Wednesday it is to seek a London listing for its shares following disappointment with its market valuation in Dubai.

The company, whose shares currently trade on the Nasdaq Dubai market, could list on the LSE as soon as the second quarter of this year, it said in a statement on the bourse website.

Dubai to open world’s tallest building

Saturday, January 02, 2010
DUBAI: Once-bustling Dubai will open the world’s tallest skyscraper on Monday, boasting new limits in design and construction, hopeful of polishing an image tarnished by the debt woes afflicting the Gulf emirate.

Emaar, the giant property firm part-owned by the government and which developed the needle-shaped concrete, steel and glass structure, has declined to reveal Burj Dubai’s exact height. Apparently wanting to maintain the suspense, the company will say only that the tower exceeds 800 metres (2,640 feet), putting it far higher than Taiwan’s Taipei 101 tower (508 metres).

Dubai World’s banks expect formal standstill request

LONDON: Bankers expect Dubai World to make a formal request for a standstill on its $26 billion debt at Monday’s creditor meeting, but it could be more than a month before banks agree, bankers said on Friday.

Banks are expected to support Dubai World’s request, but what happens next will depend on the information they receive about the health of its finances, as the scale and complexity of the restructuring and its political overtones put creditors in uncharted territory.

Abu Dhabi’s financial lifeline to Dubai is loan

Friday, December 18, 2009
DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s last-minute lifeline to debt-laden Dubai, which prevented a potential major default, was an interest-bearing commercial loan and not a handout, a government-owned daily said on Thursday.

“It’s in (the form of) bonds,” the Emirates Business newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the Dubai government.

Abu Dhabi vows to fight for rights in Citi dispute

Thursday, December 17, 2009
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi’s main sovereign wealth fund, which is alleging fraud over its $7.5 billion investment in Citigroup Inc, vowed Wednesday to fight for its “legal rights” as it seeks compensation or an exit from the deal.

Word of the dispute emerged late on Tuesday when Citi issued a brief statement saying it had been hit with an arbitration claim from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority alleging “fraudulent misrepresentations” in connection with the two-year-old agreement.

UAE stocks end volatile day down after Dubai bailout

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
DUBAI: Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed with losses on a volatile on Tuesday as investors took profits and digested the previous day’s news that Abu Dhabi would bail out debt-ridden Dubai.

The Dubai Financial Market index fell 1.49 per cent to finish at 1,843.27 points despite a bullish performance in early trading, when the DFM rose by several percentage points at one stage. On Monday the exchange had surged more than 10 per cent as Dubai’s government said it would pay $4.1 billion to cover maturing bonds issued by its Nakheel property giant after receiving the 10-billion-dollar handout.

Abu Dhabi’s financial favour to Dubai may carry price tag

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
DUBAI: Dubai has been let off the hook for now over its imminent debt thanks to a hefty lifeline from Abu Dhabi, but the price it may have to pay its deep-pocketed neighbour for the favour remains to be seen.

The city-state surprised the markets on Monday when it said it will pay $4.1 billion of maturing bonds issued by its troubled Nakheel giant property developer after it had requested a standstill on payments.

Abu Dhabi bails out Dubai with $10 billion

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi stepped in to help fellow United Arab Emirates member Dubai with a $10 billion injection, of which $4.1 billion was allocated to troubled state-owned conglomerate Dubai World to pay immediate obligations, Dubai said on Monday.
 
The move was the least expected of all options Dubai had on the table after requesting a standstill on $26 billion in Dubai World debt on Nov. 25, alarming markets and shaking the image of the emirate as a regional business hub.

Local investors injected billions into Dubai real estate

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By Saad Hasan

KARACHI: Pakistanis have invested billions of dollars in Dubai real estate which saw a steep fall in its value in a few days back after a large emirate corporation sought rescheduling of debt to evade a possible default, industry people told The News.

It is hard to establish exactly how much is stuck in the once-booming construction industry since most of the investments were funneled through the illegal network of Hundi brokers, they say. “There are no data available on such investments because money was not transferred from here in the first place,” says Akeel Karim Dhedi, a stock market broker. “Rather the foreign exchange that was supposed to make its way here just stopped there at Dubai.”

Japan firms owed $7.5b by Dubai: report

TOKYO: Japan's non-financial firms had some 7.5 billion dollars in uncollected bills from the Dubai government and its affiliated firms as of the end of October, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

The data, excluding bank loans, was derived from a total of 18 projects worth about 15 billion dollars and involving Japanese general contractors, trading houses and electric machinery manufacturers, the daily said.

Dubai tops global list for house price declines

DUBAI: Dubai property prices declined nearly 50 percent in the last year, according to a new report, making it the worst performing real estate market in the world.

The latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index for Q3 2009 surveyed house prices in 42 countries and Dubai was the worst performer on the list, with prices falling 47 percent year-on-year.

The index showed lower prices in 57 percent of the world's residential property markets, with Dubai prices falling the most, and Israel performing best, recording a 13.7 percent increase.

KSE weathers Dubai shock, bounces back above 9,000

Sunday, December 13, 2009
By Salman Siddiqui

KARACHI: The buoyant Karachi stocks rebounded from this week low to just above opening level of the week on the weekend.

The first two sessions of the week cumulatively shed 165.17 points while remaining three retrieved total 193.34 points, giving an edge of 28.17 points gain on weekly basis.

Dubai economy to rebound 2pc in 2010

Saturday, December 12, 2009
DUBAI: The economy of Dubai is expected to grow 2-3 per cent in 2010 after contracting about 2 per cent this year due to slowing real estate and construction sectors, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Friday.

Sami al-Qamzi, the head of the economic development department, told the state television the economy shrank 1.47 per cent in the first half of 2009, al-Ittihad and al-Khaleej newspapers reported.