Thursday 20 August 2009

Nakheel package did not have to cost so much

The bill for keeping the nation’s second-largest property company, Nakheel, afloat this December is US$4.05 billion (Dh14.87bn). But it could have been a lot lower.

On December 14, Nakheel will have to pay back the money to investors who bought its $3.52bn in Islamic bonds, or sukuk, as well as the profits that are due to them – another $528 million.

Normally, a company might decide to refinance that kind of debt by borrowing the money to pay off investors from someone else, such as banks or even the same investors who lent it the money in the first place. If the company had oodles of cash sitting around, it might try to pay off some of the debt.

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