Dubai World Debt Proposal Is ‘Very Fair,” HSBC Says (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Dubai World Debt Proposal Is ‘Very Fair,” HSBC Says (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Dubai World’s proposal to restructure $24.8 billion of its borrowings is “very fair” and an accord may be signed in a few weeks, said the chief executive officer of HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.

“We think the proposal is fair and a good way forward for the United Arab Emirates,” Simon Cooper said in Abu Dhabi today. “I see no reason why it should not be signed in a few weeks. We would sign today.”

Dubai World, one of the emirate’s three main state-owned holding companies, and its property unit, Nakheel PJSC, are seeking to renegotiate their borrowings after the global credit crunch battered Dubai’s real-estate market and left the emirate’s companies unable to raise new loans. Dubai World asked its nearly 100 creditors on March 25 to roll over debt into two new loans of five-year and eight-year maturities.