Two of Dubai’s most senior figures have begun a roadshow with business and political leaders in the UK and the United States as part of a strategy to repair the emirate’s battered reputation.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the uncle of Dubai’s ruler, was in London yesterday for meetings to demonstrate the emirate’s new commitment to transparency.
Sheikh Ahmed, the chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee, was accompanied by Mohammed al-Shaibani, the chief executive of the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
Their tour began two days after the Government of Dubai revealed plans to deal with a debt crisis that panicked global markets and shattered confidence in the Gulf state.
On Monday, Dubai revealed that Abu Dhabi, its oil-rich neighbour, would loan it a further $10 billion (£6 billion) to allow Dubai World, a state-owned company, to repay a bond and trade creditors. Abu Dhabi has loaned Dubai $25 billion.
Dubai’s announcement three weeks ago that it would seek a debt standstill for Dubai World triggered a run on global stocks and raised concern that the emirate would default on its $80 billion debt pile.
Aidan Burkitt, of Deloitte, the accountancy firm, has been appointed chief restructuring officer at Dubai World and is responsible for dealing with $26 billion of debts in its loss-making property divisions.
The Dubai Government has been criticised for its slow response to the crisis and for releasing the news just before the Gulf shut down for a four-day religious holiday.
Sheikh Ahmed and Mr Shaibani fly to New York today and to Washington tomorrow. People familiar with the Dubai Government said that it was highly unusual for two such senior figures to conduct a roadshow.
They said it was evidence that Dubai had realised how damaging the debt crisis had been to its reputation.
A Dubai Government insider said: “This is the next step in Dubai’s commitment to greater transparency. They will spend the next few days meeting financial, economic and political leaders.”
Dubai’s economy grew rapidly on the back of a property bubble. Much of its growth was fuelled by debt.
Times Online
