Defense company Paramount filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after suffering defeat in a long-running business dispute, Bloomberg reported. The United Arab Emirates-based company, founded by Ivor Ichikowitz in South Africa, filed for chapter 11 Thursday in Delaware. It listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in its bankruptcy petition.
United Arab Emirates
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Pakistan has secured commitments from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to rollover debt for a year, a boost for the nation as it awaits a final approval for its new $7 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. The amount of rollovers will be the same as last year, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told reporters in Islamabad after a parliamentary committee meeting. Pakistan has $12 billion in bilateral loans that have been extended for the past few years.
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Dubai Holding refinanced a 30 billion dirham ($8.2 billion) loan to replace older facilities at the two state-backed developers it absorbed last month, better positioning itself to capitalize on a boom in the city’s real estate market, Bloomberg News reported. The funding will refinance debt held by the firms — Nakheel and Meydan — according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The deal helped secure more favorable terms for the debt, with Emirates NBD Bank PJSC and Mashreqbank PSC underwriting the loan, they said.
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The new bankruptcy law coming into effect on May 1, 2024, in the UAE is expected to lead to more successful restructuring of insolvent businesses, ensuring a safer and more vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the UAE, the Khaleej Times reported. The latest law per Federal Decree-Law No. 51/2023 introduces important enhancements to the UAE’s bankruptcy framework, including the establishment of a dedicated bankruptcy court, a new preventive settlement procedure, and increased liability for management.
An oil trader sued the United Arab Emirates for $2.8 billion over allegations the state directed a smear campaign that pushed his company into bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The complaint, based on more than 8,000 hacked documents, shines a spotlight on the shadowy world of private intelligence agencies for hire. Oil trader Hazim Nada alleges that his company Lord Energy SA was targeted by a campaign of misinformation orchestrated by Swiss firm Alp Services SA, and ultimately directed by the UAE and its president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
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Hundreds of thousands of homeowners are attempting to navigate Dubai’s red-hot housing market, which has outperformed most others around the world this year, Bloomberg News reported. Tenants, property analysts and developers are trying to predict whether the market is finally starting to turn as a slew of new properties are delivered and global economic uncertainty catches up with the emirate. So far, the boom has been underpinned by an influx of wealthy investors such as Russians seeking to shield their assets, crypto millionaires and rich Indians seeking second homes.
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A property boom in Dubai that pushed the number of residential transactions to a record high last year has continued into 2023, with sales surpassing those levels in the first 10 months of this year, Bloomberg News reported. The Middle East’s tourism and financial hub recorded 93,590 transactions through to the end of October, surpassing 92,178 in all of 2022, according to CBRE Group Inc. Still, the number of sales slowed in October, falling 23.6% from a year earlier as developers offered fewer new off-plan projects.
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KBBO Group and its hospitals unit have received creditor approval for a debt restructuring plan, two years after the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm’s founder filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Creditors approved Emirates Hospitals Group’s plan earlier this week, according to people familiar with the matter and a presentation seen by Bloomberg News. The deal allows Emirates Hospitals to stave off liquidation and paves the way for a sale of the company by 2025. KBBO also received the go-ahead this month, the people said, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public.
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FTX Dubai, which was created just months before the global crypto exchange collapsed last November, is asking to be exempt from U.S. bankruptcy proceedings, TheStreet.com reported. “FTX Dubai is balance-sheet solvent. Therefore, the debtors believe that a solvent voluntary liquidation procedure in accordance with the laws of the United Arab Emirates would allow a timely distribution of the positive cash balance after payment of all outstanding liabilities and liquidation of all assets," court documents said.
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Dubai is reprimanding BitOasis, one of the largest crypto platforms focused on customers in the Middle East, for failing to meet mandated conditions set forth by the local regulator, Bloomberg News reported. The emirate, which pitches itself as a global crypto hub, has been tightening scrutiny of license seekers since last year’s bankruptcy of FTX. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issued an alert on Monday, saying it initiated an enforcement action against BitOasis.
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