Full Repayment of Dubai Debt Still Option

DUBAI: Dubai, set to ask creditors for a standstill on restructuring some $22 billion in debt linked to troubled conglomerate Dubai World, may still repay lenders in full, a local newspaper said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

The National daily said two top Dubai officials, on a confidence-building mission to Britain and the United States in recent days, told financial leaders in London that repaying all bank loans in full “was discussed as a medium-term possibility.”

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee and the uncle of Dubai’s ruler, and Mohammed al Shaibani, deputy head of the committee, met officials in London last Thursday before traveling to the U.S.

“They made clear there were a number of options the government of Dubai saw as feasible and desirable for Dubai World and repayment in full was one of them,” the newspaper quoted a person who attended the talks.

Dubai World will meet creditors on Monday and is expected to formally request a standstill on debt, mainly linked to its property units, Nakheel (NAKHD.UL) and Limitless World.

Dubai sent shockwaves through global markets on November 25 when it requested the standstill on $26 billion of debts. A $10 billion lifeline from neighboring Abu Dhabi last week helped it stave off default on a $4.1 billion Islamic bond, or sukuk, from Nakheel.