Tabreed in Talks to Restructure $1 Billion in Loans (Update1) - BusinessWeek

National Central Cooling Co., the refrigeration company that delayed payments on an Islamic bond, is in talks with banks to restructure about 3.7 billion dirhams ($1 billion) in loans, the chief financial officer said.

“We are in discussions with about a dozen banks,” Stephen Ridlington said in a phone interview from Abu Dhabi today. “We don’t have a proposal on the table yet. Banks need to see the business plan we are developing.”

Tabreed is among Gulf Arab companies seeking to restructure debt after the global economic crisis dried up financing and brought a property boom to a halt. Dubai World, one of the emirate’s three main state-owned holding companies, said on May 20 it reached an agreement with its main creditor group to restructure $23.5 billion of liabilities. Dubai International Capital LLC, a unit of Dubai Holding LLC, today sought a three- month extension on some of its loan payments.