United Arab Emirates

Dubai Group LLC, the investment company seeking payment relief on $6 billion of loans, appointed eight banks to represent creditors in two committees as it tries to speed up agreement on a debt restructuring plan, Bloomberg reported. The committees were set up to bring the restructuring talks to a quicker conclusion, said a spokeswoman for Dubai Group, who declined to be identified because of company policy. The members have been selected to be representative of all lender groups, she said by telephone.

Drydocks World (DDW), a unit of debt-ridden Dubai World, expects talks on terms of its core debt to be concluded with months, after agreeing a new $200 million credit facility, an official statement said, Reuters reported. The shipbuilding arm of Dubai World said last year it was in talks with banks to restructure $1.7 billion in debt maturing in November 2011.

There was plenty of Schadenfreude when, in late 2009, Dubai was forced to admit it had trouble paying its debts. The brash emirate’s Gulf neighbours quietly hoped to tempt bankers and business people to their rival financial hubs. Now, irritatingly for many, Dubai is showing signs of recovery, The Economist reported. A $10 billion bail-out by Abu Dhabi staved off the threat of a big default. The emirate returned to the bond markets in September. Although the issue was unrated, it was heavily oversubscribed. So what’s the worry? One concern is how Dubai will meet its future payments.

The developer Al Murjan's move to file for bankruptcy will set important precedents in the UAE, in a case that will be closely watched by thousands of investors in uncompleted projects, The National reported. The court's decisions in the case could create a framework for what investors and other creditors can expect if other property developers go under. Although there are federal laws covering bankruptcy, legal experts say they have almost never been tested.

Dubai World has succeeded in securing 100 per cent support for its $25bn restructuring after the only creditor that had not agreed to the plan was bought out, according to people familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported. Aurelius Capital Management, a US distressed debt fund, has sold $5m – a tiny proportion of Dubai World’s outstanding liabilities – to Deutsche Bank, according to one of the people. Deutsche Bank and Aurelius declined to comment.

A bankruptcy judge on Monday confirmed Almatis Group's plan to exit Chapter 11 protection in the hands of its corporate parent, Dubai International Capital, bringing the closely watched five-and-a-half month battle for the Netherlands-based aluminum company closer to resolution, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Under the restructuring plan, Almatis will emerge from bankruptcy 60% owned by DIC, with junior mezzanine lenders getting 40%. The plan sets aside 10% of the new company's shares for Almatis management.

The Dubai World debt saga is finally about to end. At least so the troubled conglomerate would have us believe, after claiming support from a majority of creditors for restructuring the billions of dollars it owes them, The Wall Street Journal’s The Source blog reported. Admittedly the claim came a day after the deadline late last week for Dubai World’s senior creditors to accept a lock-up agreement. But, still, Dubai’s powers that be clearly reckon the development warrants celebration and they may be right, at least in the near term.

Dubai World, the ports and real-estate conglomerate that shocked global investors late last year by delaying debt payment, said Friday it had won support from 99% of its creditors for its restructuring plan, putting a final deal for over $24.9 billion in debt one step closer, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In a statement Friday, the company and its owner, the government of Dubai, said they were pleased with the outcome.

More than 90% of Dubai World's creditors, holding around $14 billion of debt, have agreed to a lock-up deal, a person familiar with the situation said, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The lock-up agreement - preventing the creditors from selling their debt - is a step toward the restructuring of around $23.5 billion in debt under the Dubai World corporate umbrella. A consortium, comprised largely of banks, is required to sign up to the lock-up for the restructuring to go ahead.

Dubai World's willingness to sell prized assets such as ports operator DP World to pay down its debt pile is considered such a drastic move that analysts see it more as a last-resort bargaining tactic. Documents obtained by Reuters this week revealed the surprising news that the debt-laden conglomerate was willing to let go of "strategic assets" such as DP World, Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai Maritime City (DMC) as part of a $19.4-billion fundraising effort as it tries to reach a restructuring deal with creditors by October 1.