Dubai is considering two dates this year to issue another $10 billion of bonds, a government executive said yesterday, as the emirate seeks to raise more funds to support state-linked companies.
Dubai launched a $20 billion bond programme in February, the first half of which was bought by the UAE central bank.
It has since given more than $5 billion in loans to firms struggling to meet debt and other financial obligations amid a real estate downturn, Nasser Al Shaikh, Dubai Department of Finance director-general, said in a radio interview last week.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saaed Al Maktoum, the head of a five-member Dubai government committee responsible for disbursing the funds, said yesterday the government was deciding between a "couple of dates" for the second bond sale, both before the end of the year.
Last week, Al Shaikh had said Dubai would not reveal the names of the firms receiving support from the first bond proceeds, although the key beneficiaries were real estate companies in which the Dubai government holds some ownership stake.
Asked which companies had received state loans, Sheikh Ahmed, also chairman of Emirates airline, said: "If I was to name them all we would be here for hours and I wouldn't want to name a few and forget others."
Residential real estate prices in Dubai are set to fall almost 40 per cent this year, a Reuters poll showed last month.
Dubai has faced pressure from depressed tourist visits, retail sales and trade flows. The global financial crisis and a collapse in oil prices brought an end to its six-year economic boom, leading to many project cancellations and job cuts.
© 7Days 2009
