Restructuring deal for Dubai World soon: Ahmed

One of Dubai's top government officials said on Sunday he expected Dubai World to reach a deal in the near future on renegotiating its debt repayment schedule.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, also dismissed concerns the emirate could overstretch itself again as it announces a raft of new construction projects.

But he added that Dubai would need to keep inflation under control if it was to remain an affordable place to live.

Dubai World had to renegotiate obligations worth $25 billion. A new debt schedule was agreed in 2011 for the conglomerate. However, earlier this year, Dubai World said it was looking to revise this plan so that a 2015 repayment would be returned to creditors early in exchange for more time to handle a larger tranche of cash due in 2018.

"I can say for sure we will reach it. It is there and you will hear about it soon," Sheikh Ahmed told reporters on the sidelines of a real estate event, when asked whether Dubai World had reached a deal with its creditors.

Dubai World is offering creditors a series of incentives to lengthen its debt restructuring deal, including shares in global ports firm DP World as collateral, sources told Reuters earlier this month.

The company has secured agreement with a creditor committee including HSBC and Emirates NBD and is now holding talks on the deal with some other lenders to create a groundswell of backing before approaching the full bank group, the sources said.

Dubai's economy has rebounded over the last two years. Returning confidence has led to a number of ambitious new projects to be announced, including plans to build the world's largest Ferris wheel and the world's largest shopping mall.

While too much leverage was a major problem for Dubai and its state-linked entities during the previous boom, the current revival would be different, Sheikh Ahmed said.

"These (new) projects have nothing to do with Dubai's debt programme. These are investors who will be taking their own risks," he said.

Sheikh Ahmed added that many of the new residential projects which have been announced were needed to help boost supply and dampen big increases seen in prices.

Property price rises, at close to 30 per cent year-on-year, were among the highest in the world during 2013 and the first part of 2014, causing many - including the UAE Central Bank - to worry about an overheating market.

"We are really trying to control the inflation rate. We don't want it to be so high as we believe Dubai will continue to attract more and more people," he said.

"As you can see, rents are shooting up. If these projects don't come up, demand will exceed supply and this is not what we want to see," Sheikh Ahmed added.

Cityscape Global opened

The curtain rose on the 13th edition of the Middle East’s largest and most influential international real estate event, Cityscape Global, in Dubai on Sunday, hosting more than 280 exhibitors from 28 different countries.

The event, the largest in its history, was officially opened by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group Al Maktoum, and is supported by Dubai Land Department.

Taking place until  September 23 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Cityscape Global is co-hosted with three dedicated and expert-led conferences, and an awards ceremony at the world’s tallest hotel.

Reinforcing the sustained investor confidence in the local market, all major UAE developers have a commanding presence at Cityscape Global this year, including Foundation Sponsors, Emaar Properties, Damac, Nakheel and Dubai Properties, all taking center stage to showcase their latest developments to potential regional and international investors.

Now in its 13th year, Cityscape Global continues to be the annual meeting point for real estate investors, developers, regional and city investment promotion authorities, architects, designers and other real estate professionals currently driving real estate growth and development across global emerging markets.

Future Cities Conference 2014 opens

Dubai Municipality and the Environment Centre for Arab Towns, in collaboration with Informa and Arab Towns Organisation (ATO), on Sunday launched the Future Cities Conference.

The two day conference, held in World Trade Centre on the sidelines of 13th edition of Cityscape 2014, is aimed at highlighting the strategies of sustainable development of cities and related issues.

Having inaugurated the conference, Hussain Nasser Lootah said that the entire world has been facing new challenges every day, obliging us to act wisely with utmost care and professionalism to be able to tackle them in a sustainable way ensuring a safe present and future.

"We are extremely happy to host such an important conference in Dubai as it aims at offering a common platform for scholars, experts, architects, consultants and decision makers to follow up the changes and new trends in the field of construction as well as to exchange experiences and successful practices helping us adopt the best that suits our climate and environment," Lootah said.  

He continued, "The conference this year covers important topics such as the requirements of urban and economic growth ensuring social and environmental sustainability, methods of city planning to achieve sustainable prosperity in future, creating an advanced city in technology in tune with rapidly changing requirements, habituation of beautiful nature and its exploitation in the cities to attract nature-loving tourists, creating an eco-friendly city able to tackle the challenges related to urban development and engineering designs, building interlinked urban communities that can be considered as the basic units of future cities providing all entertainment and shopping facilities, in addition to the industrial development taking into account the health and safety of people,’ he said.

In conclusion, Lootah said, "We have great hope that this conference will contribute into our decisions in applying the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, regarding the implementation of smart city specifications considering the most advanced and successful practices in the sustainability. Also we reassure our pledge to be one of the top ten sustainable cities in the world by 2020."




 

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