Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group has agreed with banks to restructure $1.5 billion of debt for a second time after sluggish economic growth hurt cash flow, reported Bloomberg.

The group is close to signing a deal with about 20 creditors to push out loan maturities to December 2026.

In return, Al Jaber will seek to raise about AED 1.63 billion ($444 million) from asset sales by the end of 2020 and is in the process of hiring sale managers. Members of the Al Jaber family, as well as other shareholders, will also try to raise as much as AED 765 million by selling personal assets.

The entire deal is expected to be completed by September after all the banks receive approvals.

Al Jaber Group is among several businesses in the UAE that restructured liabilities after the global financial crisis in 2008 led to a crash in property prices and froze credit markets. It signed an agreement to alter the terms on about $4 billion of debt in June 2014 after about four years of negotiations.

Economic growth in the UAE, the second-biggest Arab economy, has slowed over the past three years as lower oil prices curbed government spending. Although growth is expected to accelerate to 2.8 per cent this year, it’s still well below the average in the 15 years to 2015.

© 2019 CPI Financial. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.