United Arab Emirates

Dubai International Capital, the private equity arm of the Gulf Arab emirate, said it will focus on bringing German aluminium maker Almatis out of bankruptcy after a long-running battle with a dissident lender ended, Reuters Africa reported. Oaktree Capital Management LP withdrew its opposition to DIC's plan to retain control of the bankrupt firm after a settlement offer was leaked. Oaktree and Dubai have been battling over the best way to refinance Almatis, which filed for bankruptcy in the United States with more than $1 billion in debt, for the past year.

Dubai's debt-laden company Dubai World said after meeting creditors on Thursday that it will complete restructuring its remaining debts "over the coming months," Agence France-Presse reported.

Almatis Group said it has lined up $592 million to fund a potential restructuring plan that would see it exit bankruptcy under the ownership of Dubai International Capital, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In court papers filed Monday, the aluminum company said it expects to ask the bankruptcy court shortly for permission to strike a deal with various firms that are willing to back the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization that current Almatis owner Dubai International Capital wants to sponsor.

Dubai World has invited all its creditors to a July 22 meeting where the troubled conglomerate will seek to forge consensus behind backing for its multibillion-dollar restructuring proposal, people familiar with the matter say, the Financial Times reported. Creditors that hold about 60 per cent of the $14.8bn of the holding company’s debt – the seven banks on the co-ordinating committee of lenders – have already agreed initial terms on the restructuring proposal, which offers to pay back principle over five to eight years, the Financial Times reported.

Bankrupt German aluminum maker Almatis BV is considering a new refinancing proposal from its owner Dubai International Capital LLC, but Almatis senior debtholder Oaktree Capital Management urged the judge to stick to the original reorganization plan, Reuters reported. In a letter dated Wednesday to Judge Martin Glenn, who is overseeing the case, Almatis' attorney said he had received a proposal from Dubai International Capital, or DIC, to pay off the company's senior debt in full.

Dubai International Capital, a heavily-indebted investment arm of the emirate’s ruler, has dismissed speculation about a fire sale of assets by promising to keep its five majority-owned companies in Europe for at least two more years, the Financial Times reported. In a letter to the senior managers of its portfolio companies, DIC said it had already spent $300m on supporting its troubled investments, such as the UK hotel chain Travelodge and German industrial groups Almatis and Mauser.

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will soon issue economic laws to regulate the Gulf nation's financial sector and control the flow of hot money in the national economy, local economic daily Emirates Business 24/ 7 reported Wednesday.

Dubai International Capital, an investment arm of conglomerate Dubai Holding, has asked lenders for a three-month extension on some of its debts, underscoring the financial challenges still facing the city-state, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The news comes six months after Dubai's much larger conglomerate Dubai World shocked markets by announcing a standstill on its own debt pile. Last week, Dubai World said it has agreed in principle with its main creditors to restructure $23.5 billion of debt and said it would seek a final deal with all its creditors by the end of June.

The reform of the UAE's insolvency framework is at the centre of government plans to address vulnerabilities in the country's financial system, a top official said on Sunday, ArabianBusiness.com reported. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Supreme Fiscal Committee and chairman of Emirates Group, said "urgent steps" were being taken to address gaps in the UAE's legal and regulatory infrastructure.

Dubai World's agreement with its core bank creditors to extend maturities on loan repayments and pay back debt at likely lower interest rates sets an example of how Dubai and Greece could manage their debt problems, Deutsche Bank's (DB) chief executive in the Middle East and North Africa said Friday. "They started a process, the market is favourable, it's an indication of how things should be done," Henry Azzam told Zawya Dow Jones on the sidelines of an economic forum in Lebanon.