The investment arm of Dubai International Financial Centre, the emirate’s tax-free financial district, reported a net loss of $562m for 2009 as it wrote down real estate and business investments in the emirate.
DIFC Investments, which owns buildings in the district as well as direct stakes in global companies, said it had received a government loan of $500m in 2009 and another of $500m in 2008, as it restated 2008 profits at $839m.
The government-owned business, which posted results on Nasdaq Dubai where it has listed a $1.25bn Islamic bond maturing in 2012, rose to prominence in the Dubai’s real estate-driven boom as global financial institutions flocked to the centre as a hub for their regional banking operations.
As the property bubble burst, concerns rose about Dubai’s $109bn debt. Dubai World, another government-owned holding company, is restructuring debts of around $25bn as the emirate seeks to revive its services-centred economy.
“Regional markets continued to be volatile and, like many other institutions, DIFC faced a difficult business environment in 2009,” said Ahmad al-Tayer, chairman of DIFC Investments and governor of the DIFC Authority, which runs the centre. [Read More]
