Debt restructure for DW in March

Dubai World will next month present its lenders with a proposal to restructure about $26 billion (Dh95.5bn) of debt, a spokesperson for the Dubai Government confirmed to Emirates Business, rejecting earlier reports that the company had already shared the proposal with its lenders.

Neither the company nor the government have put forward any proposal yet to the lenders for the proposed restructuring, she said. "We expect to table a proposal in March," she confirmed, while declining to get into the scope of the restructuring.

"That's a confidential matter between the company and its lenders," she said.

The Government of Dubai, acting through the Supreme Fiscal Committee (SFC), had in November last year, authorised the Dubai Financial Support Fund (DFSF) to spearhead the restructuring of Dubai World.

In December, while announcing a comprehensive set of actions in relation to Dubai World, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the SFC, said: "The Government of Dubai remains committed to its high standards and its obligations. We are confident in our economic model."

Dubai World fulfilled its commitments on a $4.1bn Nakheel sukuk in mid-December last year after Abu Dhabi subscribed to the final $5bn tranche of the $20bn Dubai bond. Meanwhile, Nakheel's 2.75 per cent $750 million sukuk gained 0.5 per cent to 47.25 cents on the dollar, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

They were at 46.5 cents on the dollar earlier yesterday.

Dubai's credit default swap rates have tightened by almost seven per cent in the last two days to 607.62 basis points (mid spread), according to CMA DataVision. (With inputs from agencies)

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