Merger likely to win approval

Amlak Finance PJSC and Tamweel PJSC, the Dubai mortgage lenders, are likely to win creditor approval for their merger, Moody's Investors Service said.

"It's in nobody's interest to have Tamweel and Amlak going into default," said Moody's Paris-based analyst Anouar Hassoune, who rated Tamweel bonds issued last year.

The Amlak and Tamweel merger may help revive the region's mortgage market which was hurt by the global credit crunch and easing real estate prices. The UAE government took control of Dubai's biggest mortgage providers in November, suspending their shares and blocking new lending, as the financial turmoil caused house prices to plunge by almost 50 per cent since their peak in August, according to Colliers International.