Dubai World ready to use tribunal for deal on debts
Struggling state firm Dubai World is to be ready to use a special tribunal to force rebel lenders into line on plans to delay repayment of $14.4bn (£9.4bn) in debts.
The indebted conglomerate would use a special tribunal set up by decree to hear disputes over the delayed repayment plan, a source familiar with the matter said ahead of a key creditor meeting in the emirate. A banker in the meeting said that was the message lenders got.
“Basically they said ‘this is the deal and the alternative is we’ll invoke the decree and
then you’ll have to wait a long time for your money back’,” said a Gulf-based creditor bank. The Gulf Arab emirate is labouring under more than $100bn of debt, including the $14.4bn Dubai World debt, which is the company that owns firms that built the palm islands project.