ANALYSIS - Dubai deal just the kickoff in a long game

* username: rupertbu

Bankers will see Dubai's plans to restructure $26 billion in debt as a kickoff in a long game and not a goal if other high-profile restructurings, such as Russian aluminium producer UC RUSAL are a guide.

Dubai World, the holding company harbouring the emirate's flagship property firm Nakheel, builder of palm-shaped islands, is the playing field for one of the biggest emerging markets debt dramas ever, and an announcement is expected this week.

"We have a long way to go before we have any real clarity on how this restructuring will pan out," a London-based banker specialising in lending to the Middle East said.