UAE banks need $40 bln injection

* username: rupertbu

UAE banks need a cash injection of $40 billion to fill their liquidity gap and boost lending to firms hungry to do deals, the head of one of Dubai's largest holding companies said on Wednesday.

"Bank lending has been at a standstill for two years and I don't think this will be different in 2010. Banks need $20 billion to close the gap in loans and deposits and another $20 billion in extra liquidity to start lending again," said Khalid bin Kalban, chief executive and managing director of Dubai Investments.

"When you buy, you have to borrow. No one will give you any money these days to leverage," he told reporters during a tour of Dubai Investments Park (DIP), the largest mixed-use real estate project developed by his company.