News

Dubai Holdings defers loan payment again

Dubai Holding’s non-financial arm, Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), has deferred payment on a $555m loan for the second time.

The payment was originally rescheduled in July and now has been set back to November. In a statement on Nasdaq Duabi, DHCOG said “all parties have agreed to further extend the existing revolving credit facility”.

DHCOG includes media business parks and telecom interests, the merged property companies Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai and Tatweer, as well as Jumeirah.

It is believed that Dubai Holding has gross debt of around $12bn and that DHCOG is the least-affected arm of the empire.

When speaking to The Financial Times, Chavan Bhogaita, head of credit research at National Bank of Abu Dhabi said: “This is the second time that the loan has been rolled over. It is unlikely that the banks would have done so unless they had sufficient comfort regarding the viability of the business.”

Martina Lacey, London