Dubai Group,
part of a conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, is nearing a debt deal
with its lenders and an agreement may be signed by the end of second-quarter,
the head of one of its creditor banks said.
Financial
services firm Dubai Group set up a bank committee for debt restructuring talks
last year. It has missed at least two scheduled payments on separate loans.
“We are
at the final stages. We are happy with the progress. We expect a few minor
details to be ironed out but we expect the deal to be signed,” said
Hussain Al Qemzi, chief executive of Noor Islamic Bank, one of the banks on the
creditor committee.
“Within
the second quarter I see it will be definitely signed,” Qemzi said on the
sidelines of a conference in Dubai, adding when the debt problems at Dubai
Group first surfaced, the bank was not prepared. Dubai Group, which focuses on
banking, insurance and investments, has stakes in Dubai-based investment bank
Shuaa Capital, Greek group Marfin Investment Group and Australian company
Citigold Corp.
Its debt
talks come on the heels of a raft of restructurings underway in the Gulf Arab
emirate after a property collapse and the onset of the global economic downturn.
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