May 02 2011 |
more articles from
|
DIFC says its investment unit’s losses fall 52%
Monday, May 02, 2011
Gulf News
Dubai DIFC Investments ( DIFCI ), the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre ( DIFC ), yesterday announced that its losses in 2010 were 52 per cent less than those of 2009.
DIFCI incurred a loss of $272 million (Dh999 million) in 2010 compared to $562.3 million in 2009.
“Amidst the backdrop of the ongoing global downturn, DIFC continued to be confronted with a demanding business environment in 2010,” said Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of DIFCI , in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai yesterday. “Nevertheless, as compared with 2009, improvements have been achieved in DIFCI’s financial performance for 2010.”
Cost savings
While its net finance costs declined from $98.46 million in 2009 to $68.58 million in 2010, the company rescheduled interest and principal repayment on two $500 million loans owed to the Dubai government last year.
Attributing the bulk of the losses last year to devaluation of its real estate investment, the company said the losses were within its expectations.
“When releasing the financials for 2009, we were cognisant that the economic environment in 2010 would be unsettled and pose challenges to DIFCI’s business,” Al Tayer said.
The company yesterday reported that in 2010 it undertook prudent management of its investment portfolio by divesting selective non-strategic investments while retaining key assets in the portfolio.
Going forward, the company plans to make selective disinvestments.
“The year 2011 will see the execution of selected disinvestment plans and expects further value improvement in various funds and assets, which would also depend on the resurgence of global markets,” the DIFCI statement said.
DIFC Investments owns and operates office buildings in the DIFC , which is home to the regional offices of banks including Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley.
DIFC Investments expects to complete the sale of business software company SmartStream Technologies Group Plc. this year, the company said yesterday. It bought the company in 2007.
DIFCI also plans to complete the sale of high-end Kuwaiti fashion retailer Villa Moda in 2011, having indicated its intention to sell the company in 2009.
Amidst the backdrop of the ongoing global downturn, DIFC continued to be confronted with a demanding business environment in 2010.”
By Babu Das Augustine?Deputy Business Editor
© Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
Zawya Comment Policy
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Copyright © 2012 Zawya Ltd. All rights reserved. |
provided by www.zawya.com |
Post Your Comment