United Arab Emirates

Plans agreed between Zabeel Investments and its creditors to restructure individual loans included in around USD 1.6bn of liabilities have been overturned as Wasl Asset Management tries to renegotiate terms, according to two creditors, the Financial Times reported on a dealReporter story. The move has led one lender, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), to begin legal action, they claimed. ADCB was expected to file its case in mid-September, the creditors said, without providing details of the nature of the action.

Three international banks that backed out of $10 billion debt restructuring talks with an investment company controlled by Dubai's ruler said Thursday they are now pursuing legal action against the firm, dashing hopes of a consensual deal, The Seattle Times reported on an Associated Press story. The move by Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland, Commerzbank of Germany and South African lender Standard Bank will likely further complicate Dubai Group's efforts to move beyond its debt troubles after more than a year and a half of negotiations with creditors.

A Dubai court sanctioned the $2.2 billion debt restructuring of Drydocks World LLC, the Middle East’s biggest shipyard, after creditors approved the plan, Bloomberg reported. The ruling by the special tribunal said 97.8 percent of Drydocks’s creditors agreed to the terms. A government decree allows the tribunal to enforce a restructuring proposal if at least two-thirds of the creditors agree to it. Drydocks World, part of the state-controlled Dubai World group, filed an application to the Dubai tribunal in April to block lawsuits after failing to win support from all lenders.

Fal Oil Company’s attempts to restructure debts of around AED 4bn (USD 1.1bn) and raise USD 650m in new working capital have been dealt a blow by the loss of oil acting as security for Standard Chartered Bank, according to a source familiar with the situation and three creditors, the Financial Times reported. The development prompted Standard Chartered, the chair of Fal’s creditor steering committee, to tell the committee it is rejecting the company’s request for new working capital, the source and one creditor said.

Middle East trader FAL Oil, in talks with creditors on $700 million in debt, is on the cusp of hiring a chief restructuring officer to keep the faltering discussions on track, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday. United Arab Emirates-based FAL, once one of the biggest regional fuel oil traders, has been forced to cut its fuel oil and bunkering operations in the UAE by as much as 60 percent and shut its trading operations in Singapore and London.

Dubai Group LLC’s creditors are seeking an option to be repaid early as the investment company controlled by Dubai’s ruler reorganizes $6 billion of bank debt, according to three people familiar with the talks, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Under the early exit proposal for the 10-year debt restructuring, banks can choose to be repaid the market value of their loans after five years, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

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.