DEWA starts to test appetite for Dubai debt

* username: rupertbu

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has started a series of meetings with investors ahead of a potential new bond issue that is expected to be a litmus test of investor appetite for Dubai debt.

Last November, conglomerate Dubai World shocked global markets with plans for a debt restructuring.

The state-owned utility would be the first company in Dubai to sell bonds since then. The company met investors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and is set for further meetings in the US and Asia later this week and early next week to test appetite for a possible new issue, according to people with knowledge of the transaction.