Construction giant Arabtec Holding on Monday said that a Dubai court has accepted its petition to open bankruptcy proceedings and had also appointed a trustee for each of its entities, the Khaleej Times reported. The court ordered each appointed trustee to publish the bankruptcy decision of each entity, review its debts, deposit a record of its creditors, and conduct all the procedures stipulated under the bankruptcy law within 35 days. The court also instructed each trustee to prepare an initial separate report on the assets of each entity and its rights with third parties.
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United Arab Emirates
Emirates got an additional $1.1 billion in state support from Dubai after a collapse in long-haul travel due to the coronavirus pandemic triggered the airline's first annual loss in more than three decades, Reuters reported. Governments have pumped billions of dollars into airlines to keep them afloat during the pandemic and state-owned Emirates has now received $3.1 billion in equity injections from Dubai, including $2 billion disclosed last year.
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Dubai-based Emirates REIT withdrew the restructuring proposal for its $400 million Islamic bond after a group of investors successfully opposed the deal, Bloomberg News reported. Emirates REIT said Monday that 57% of sukuk-holders who voted were in favor of its exchange offer. It said that 79% of its bondholders cast votes, without providing further details. The outcome fell short of the 75% the fund required to push through the proposal. As a result, it rescinded the plan but vowed to continue exploring options to improve the REIT’S sukuk and equity trading.
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A lender wholly owned by the federal government of the United Arab Emirates is planning to sell its second-ever international bonds as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported. Emirates Development Bank, which started operations in 2015 and provides financing to citizens and small- and medium-sized enterprises, could raise $750 million or more, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The money would go toward supporting companies in sectors considered a priority for the economy, the people said.
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Abu Dhabi’s state oil firm raised $1.64 billion by selling bonds and shares in its fuel arm, which slumped the most in more than a year, Bloomberg News reported. The capital of the United Arab Emirates contains almost all the OPEC member’s hydrocarbon reserves. The government, along with others in the region such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, is seeking to use money from energy assets to build new industries and diversify the economy. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
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Dubai-listed Emirates REIT made no indication it’s willing to compromise with a group of creditors that rejected its proposal to exchange $400 million of sukuk securities for new notes, Bloomberg News reported. A dispute with investors escalated on Wednesday after the dissenting certificate-holders said they have the numbers to block the offer and asked for a meeting with the company the following day “to discuss the concerns of the Ad-Hoc Group and its requirements for the restructuring process.” Rothschild & Co. and Clifford Chance are advising the group.
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UAE-based troubled contractor Arabtec Holding has submitted a bankruptcy petition to Dubai Court, following the company's former group CEO Wail Farsakh's resignation in February 2021, Construction Week reported. In a missive issued to Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Arabtec Holding stated that a bankruptcy petition was submitted to the Dubai Court in addition to certain subsidiaries, which include Arabtec Construction, Austrian Arabian Readymix Concrete Co., Arabtec Precast, Emirates Falcon Electromechanical Co.
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Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, one of the biggest lenders to NMC Health Plc, expects creditors’ approval for a restructuring plan for the collapsed hospital operator in the first half, Bloomberg News reported. The bank recorded 1.66 billion dirhams ($450 million) in provisions and interest in suspense toward NMC, Finablr Plc and associated companies last year, according to a statement. ADCB is “comfortable” with the provisioning levels, “given the positive developments in NMC’s recent financial performance and its ongoing restructuring process,” it said.
A unit of the main conglomerate controlled by Dubai’s ruler is facing off against creditors including Mashreqbank PSC after telling them it won’t fully repay a loan that was restructured in 2013, Bloomberg News reported. The $1.2 billion syndicated facility is linked to Dubai Holding Investments Group LLC’s acquisition in 2007 of a 10% stake in U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, since renamed Sculptor Capital Management.
Dubai’s government expects to spend 57.1 billion dirhams ($15.5 billion) next year as it tries to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, according to the budget approved on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported. The program takes into account “the exceptional economic conditions of the fiscal year 2020 and the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy,” according to a statement on the website of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. Government revenue is expected to reach 52.3 billion dirhams, it said.
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