Thursday 29 December 2011

UAE: an outsized bailout for Aldar | beyondbrics – FT.com

Abu Dhabi has again rescued struggling developer Aldar Properties with a massive US-style bailout, as a collapse in the real estate market erodes the emirate’s cultural ambitions in the Gulf.

The government has announced it will buy some prized assets from Aldar for Dh16.8bn ($4.57bn) – the second bailout this year for the developer behind Ferrari World, the world’s biggest indoor theme park. That would put government spending on the developer this year to Dh36bn.

Chavan Bhogaita, head of markets strategy unit at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, told Reuters: “the fact that these assets are being sold directly to the government is significant as it clearly shows that the company benefits from a high level of support from both the government directly and also via Mubadala,” referring to the state investment vehicle to which Aldar issued a $2.8bn convertible bond earlier this year. Twitter users reacted by describing the massive bailout as the “American Way.”

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