North Africa/Middle East

In Dubai's posh Jumeirah Beach Residence district, luxury apartment rents are down about 15 percent from a year ago - a sign, some fear, that the wealthy emirate's recipe for economic success is getting stale, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. For over two decades, Dubai prospered as one of the world's most international cities, attracting people and capital from across the globe. Nine years ago, it needed a $20 billion bailout from oil-rich Abu Dhabi to escape a debt crisis caused by collapsing property prices.

Abraaj Group Ltd. is being sued by one of the founders of a Turkish dairy maker that the embattled buyout firm is trying to sell, according to people familiar with the matter. The legal action comes as liquidators of Dubai-based Abraaj seek to dispose of assets in developing nations around the world to help repay more than $1 billion in debt, Bloomberg News reported.

Bondholders’ relief over a Gulf pledge to prop up Bahrain’s struggling economy has given way to anxiety now that three weeks have passed without any sign aid is on the way, Bloomberg News reported. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are waiting for Bahrain to submit its proposal for economic reforms before giving any money to the cash-strapped nation, according to three people familiar with the issue, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Saudi Arabia will introduce its first comprehensive bankruptcy law on Aug. 18 in a move designed to encourage foreign and domestic investment in private business, experts say. The move is also seen as providing a boost for competitiveness and jobs, and to help pave the way for the transfer of knowledge and skills as part of a drive to modernize the economy, Al-Bawaba reported.

Some investors in funds managed by Dubai-based Abraaj want to block the sale of assets to Colony Capital pending a review of Abraaj’s handling of funds, according to a report seen by Reuters, potentially delaying a deal key to the survival of the investment management business. United States-based Colony offered last month to buy the fund management unit that runs Abraaj’s Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey funds after months of turmoil at Abraaj triggered by a dispute with investors over the use of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund, Reuters reported.

The Middle East and north Africa must accelerate economic reforms and tackle an unemployment crisis among women and young people that risks fuelling wider unrest across the region, the International Monetary Fund has warned. In a report published on Thursday, the fund highlighted the vast gender gap in the regional workforce, the Financial Times reported. If this was narrowed “from triple to double the average for other emerging markets and developing economies”, the region’s economic growth could have doubled in the past decade, gaining $1tn in cumulative output, it said.

A Sharjah court judge on Thursday adjourned the case against Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi for issuing a $48.2m cheque with insufficient funds as talks to settle the debt move ahead, the Financial Times reported. Adjournment until July 11 comes after late night negotiations between representatives for Mr Naqvi and Hamid Jafar, the founder of Crescent Group, who loaned Abraaj $300m last December. The criminal case, which had its first hearing on June 28, relates to one of several cheques signed by Mr Naqvi and a co-defendant and written to Mr Jafar, which were dishonoured when presented.

Bahrain hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise on how to repair its strained public finances, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the island kingdom seeks to secure crucial support from rich neighbors to avoid a currency devaluation, Bloomberg News reported. Lazard is helping Bahrain evaluate fiscal reforms to help ease pressure on the state’s budget, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The options include raising capital from international markets, one of the people said. Bahrain’s Eurobonds dropped after the report.

Bonds issued by EA Partners, a special purpose vehicle linked to Etihad Airways, fell to the lowest on record this week after the company said it wants to discuss restructuring some of its debt with creditors. EA Partners II’s $500 million of bonds due June 2021 are quoted at a bid price of 63 cents on the dollar, about 5 cents lower since last week, according to two separate brokers contacted by Bloomberg.

A United Arab Emirates court is expected to rule next week on a criminal case against Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi for issuing a check without sufficient funds, a lawyer involved in the case said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The Sharjah court case relates to a check for 177.1 million dirhams ($48 million), signed by Naqvi and fellow executive Muhammad Rafique Lakhani, and written to Hamid Jafar, another founding shareholder in private equity firm Abraaj, according to a prosecution document and a clerk at the prosecutor’s office.