Dubai, May 27: Dubai International Capital (DIC), the investment arm of Dubai Holding which is owned by Dubai’s ruler, said Thursday it had requested a three-month interest-bearing extension for debt payments.
The investment vehicle and a coordinating committee of banks on Thursday “presented a request to lenders for a three-month extension to 30 September 2010 of certain maturities,” it said in a statement.
It did not specify the amount of debt targeted for the extension, nor the banks concerned, but reports said that DIC has debt of some 1.25 billion dollars (1 billion euros) maturing by the end of June.
“The extension period would allow the implementation of a consensual longer-term plan that would enable DIC to maximise the value of its business for the benefit of all its stakeholders,” DIC said.
DIC will “continue to pay interest” during the extension period, a DIC spokeswoman said.
The investment firm has reportedly been in talks with banks to refinance its nine billion dirhams (2.45 billion dollars, 2 billion euros) debt.
DIC had bought the Tussauds Group in 2005 which was merged in 2007 with Merlin Entertainments Group. DIC holds a 20 percent stake in the combined company.
Its parent-firm Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum — was touted to be next in seeking debt restructuring after the government-owned Dubai World sought in November the restructuring of its 26 billion dollars in debt.
The total debt of Dubai Holding is not clear, with some reports putting its portfolio of loans and bonds at around 15 billion dollars.
Dubai Holding has several arms, including property development, which is led by Dubai Properties Group, the developer behind the trendy Dubai area of Jumeirah Beach Residence.
Its business took a severe beating after the global financial crisis hit Dubai’s property sector, bringing its rapidly growing real estate sector to a halt.
—Agencies