UAE's NBQ says Global loses court bid

National Bank of Umm al-Qaiwain (NBQ) said on Wednesday that Kuwait's Global Investment House (GIH) has lost a court bid to scrap its deal to buy a $642.5 million stake in the UAE bank, after defaulting on payment.

Global, which defaulted on most of its debt earlier this year amid the credit crunch, last year signed a deal to buy a 20-percent stake in NBQ through convertible bonds.

NBQ, in a statement announcing second-quarter earnings results, reiterated the Kuwait firm had paid only $249.9 million of the purchase price and defaulted on the rest.