United Arab Emirates

The standoff between Dana Gas PJSC and its bondholders took a fresh twist after the Middle Eastern energy explorer that’s trying to void $700 million of its own debt was said to believe investors may even have to pay the company, Bloomberg News reported. The Sharjah-based gas producer says a court battle with holders of the Islamic securities, or sukuk, may see it having to return less than 10 percent of the amount it borrowed, according to a person familiar with Dana Gas’s own analysis.

Dana Gas PJSC won an extension of a London court order blocking investors from taking action over $700 million in disputed Islamic bonds until after a trial scheduled for as soon as October, Bloomberg News reported. Dana, which has operations in Egypt and Iraq, sent shockwaves through the world of Islamic finance by announcing in June that its own sukuk were not Shariah compliant. The U.K. court hearings are part of a global legal effort by the company, including filings in the United Arab Emirates and British Virgin Islands, to stop investors from trying to force payment.

Champions of the rapidly expanding $2 trillion Islamic finance market are probably hoping the Dana Gas situation will go away, and they may yet get their wish, Bloomberg News reported. The Middle Eastern energy explorer sent shockwaves through the Shariah industry this month when, as part of its battle to restructure debt, it declared the bonds it issued were no longer legal under Islamic law.

Nothing in Islamic finance or the United Arab Emirates’ laws regarding Shariah-compliant debt has changed since Dana Gas PJSC restructured its sukuk about four years ago, Bloomberg News reported. "What makes the sukuk illegal now?” asks Rizwan Kanji, a partner at law firm King & Spalding LLP. When the gas producer started negotiations with creditors in 2012, the issue relating to mudarabah structures was “clear and settled,” said the Dubai-based lawyer who specializes in Shariah-compliant deals. Since then, there have been no changes in Islamic finance or related U.A.E.

A decision by Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas to declare $700 million of its sukuk invalid has sent shivers through the Islamic finance industry, raising concern about the safety of sharia-compliant debt instruments in general, Reuters reported. Dana said on Tuesday it had received legal advice that its sukuk, or Islamic bonds, which mature in October, were not compliant with the Islamic sharia code and had become "unlawful" in the United Arab Emirates.

Dana Gas PJSC plans to more than halve profit rates on $700 million of its Islamic bonds after they were found to be non-compliant with religious law, adding a new twist to a debt restructuring initiated in May, Bloomberg News reported.

Dana Gas PJSC named legal and financial advisers to assess options for about $700 million in Islamic bonds due in October, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Houlihan Lokey Inc. will serve as financial adviser and Squire Patton Boggs LLP will provide legal counsel, according to the person, who asked not be identified because the matter is not public, Bloomberg News reported. None of the companies commented.

In 2011, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer James Hogan hatched a bold strategy to catch up with the airline’s more established Persian Gulf rivals: buying stakes in smaller, cash-hungry carriers across three continents to cobble together enough passengers to propel the Abu Dhabi-based company into the ranks of the global aviation elite. But after more than $4 billion of share purchases, bond buyouts, and other investments, the wannabe airline superpower has little to show for its long-odds gamble, Bloomberg News reported.

Dubai-listed conglomerate Gulf General Investment Co(GGICO) said on Monday it expected to complete a restructuring of around Dhs2.36bn ($643m) in loans by next month. The firm, which has investments spanning financial services, property, hospitality, manufacturing and retailing, previously renegotiated Dhs2.8bn in financial commitments in 2012. But the subdued local economy prompted the company to revisit that debt restructuring last year.

The naming of a new boss at Etihad Airways presents the Gulf carrier with an opportunity to rethink its aggressive expansion strategy after the failure of minority-owned Alitalia underlined the big barriers to global growth, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Ray Gammell was appointed interim CEO this week, days after Alitalia sought bankruptcy protection with $3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) of debt. He replaces veteran boss James Hogan.