North Africa/Middle East

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Commerzbank AG and Standard Bank Group Ltd may be betting Dubai will improve terms on a $10 billion debt restructuring to protect its reputation after a near default in 2009, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The banks walked away from talks with government-owned Dubai Group after 18 months without an accord, two people familiar with the situation said July 9. The banks disagreed with demands for loan maturities of 12 years, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations aren’t public.

Drydocks World, the shipbuilding and repair arm of Dubai World, has finally obtained the official go-ahead from creditors for its $2.2 billion debt-restructuring plan, the Khaleej Times reported. At a meeting in Dubai on Tuesday, creditors holding more than 97 per cent of the debt to be restructured officially agreed to the deal, a statement from professional services firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, said. PwC is advising Drydocks on the restructuring alongside law firm Clifford Chance.

Royal Bank of Scotland and two other banks have abandoned talks on restructuring Dubai Group’s $10bn debt and threatened to bring unprecedented legal action against the investment vehicle of Dubai’s ruler, sources close to the matter said, Gulf Times reported on a Reuters story. The walkout by RBS, German lender Commerzbank and South Africa’s Standard Bank at the beginning of June could prevent a deal for the entire restructuring just as an initial agreement is about to be circulated to other banks, five sources said.

Dubai's shipyard operator Drydocks World signed a deal Wednesday to form a joint venture for its Asian operations with Singapore's Kuok Group as it tries to close a $2.2 billion debt restructuring, The Seattle Times reported on an Associated Press story. The debt-laden shipbuilder has been working on the deal since at least December, when chairman Khamis Juma Buamim first discussed the possibility of sharing control of its Asian businesses. Its parent company, Dubai World, sent markets reeling in 2009 when it acknowledged it couldn't pay back billions it owed.

Kuwait's Global Investment House is expected to receive approval on Thursday to delay the repayment of bonds worth 95 million dinars ($338.6 million) to November from June, two sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. "Bondholders have verbally agreed to the extension. The Thursday meeting will make it official," one banker, who asked not to be named, said.

Kuwait's Global Investment House said on Tuesday that it would ask creditors to further extend a deadline for repaying debt to November from June as part of a restructuring proposal it plans to submit soon, Reuters reported. The company, which is undergoing its second debt restructuring in three years, did not specify an amount. "The main point is that Global is progressing in its negotiations with lenders," a statement filed on the Dubai bourse said. It has asked for the repayment deadline to be pushed to Nov. 10 instead of June 10, it said.

The United Arab Emirates is close to finalising an updated federal bankruptcy law and a draft of the legislation should be ready by the end of this year, Justice Minister Hadef bin Juan al-Dhaheri said on Monday, Reuters reported. The draft, which has been in the works since 2009, should enable both listed and family-owned companies in the UAE to be rescued rather than having to go through lengthy bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings. "The ministry is studying a set of laws," Dhaheri told a conference on financial restructuring and bankruptcy in Dubai.

Insolvent Swiss oil refiner Petroplus owes Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach over $250 million in unpaid bills, an Algerian energy sector official told Reuters. Sonatrach has not received payment for several cargoes of crude it delivered to the refiner, the source said, without specifying what action, if any, the Algerian firm planned to take to recover the money. Late last year, Petroplus said lenders had frozen a credit facility which it was using to buy crude for delivery to its refineries. It filed for insolvency protection in January.

Dubai Legal proceedings in the $2.2 billion (Dh8.08 billion) debt restructuring of Dubai World's shipbuilding unit have been delayed due to a court challenge in Singapore over a rig-building contract, a lawyer said yesterday, gulfnews.com reported. Drydocks World sought insolvency protection last month and is using a special tribunal in Dubai to force creditors to sign up to the plan. It also filed legal proceedings in Singapore to push through the proposal.

A unit of Bahrain investment house Arcapita has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, the company said in a statement, Reuters reported. Falcon Gas Storage Company, a non-operating subsidiary of Arcapita, also intends to file a motion for joint administration with its parent company for the ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring, it said in the statement late on Monday. In March, Arcapita became the first Gulf entity to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U. S. after it was threatened with legal action if it did not repay a hedge fund in full.