A view of high rise buildings is seen in Dubai March 23, 2010. [Xinhua] |
The Dubai government said on Thursday it would offer 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in aid to the troubled Dubai World conglomerate as part of a restructuring plan.
The chairman of Dubai supreme fiscal committee said in a statement that the government would put the money into its chief conglomerate Dubai World and a key subsidiary as part of a long- awaited restructuring plan of the companies' debt.
The new funding will include 5.7-billion-U.S.-dollar of the remaining funds from a bailout by Abu Dhabi emirate and internal Dubai Government resources.
However, the proposal still needs approval from international bankers and creditors, who gathered in Dubai on Wednesday to finalize a 26-billion dollar debt plan to restructure the troubled Dubai World conglomerate.
An investor looks at a computer at the Dubai International Financial Market, March 21, 2010. [Xinhua] |
The government of Dubai said it plans to ask all its creditors to agree to restructure their Dubai World loans. As part of that deal, the government plans to recapitalize the conglomerate by offering as equity an 8.9 billion dollars claim in the company, while also pumping in 1.5 billion in new funds, the statement added.
Earlier, Dubai has received 20 billion dollars in emergency funds from its neighbor Abu Dhabi, which is also the capital of the UAE, an oil rich emirate.
Last year, Dubai World sent shockwaves across financial markets when it said it would not be able to repay the debt on time and asked for a six-month freeze on debt payments.
In recent years, Dubai's economy grew at a rapid speed on the back of its real estate boom, but it was hard hit by the global economic crisis which caused a shortage in available finance for the emirate's ambitious projects.