Dubai confronts its maturing wall of debt | beyondbrics | FT.com

Dubai World’s debt restructuring looks like it may still turn out to be an unlikely success - given the shock it gave global markets when it was announced last year - and has led to some tentative optimism in some quarters of the emirate. But Moody’s today poured cold water over any Pollyannas that might be left in the Gulf.

In a regional credit outlook report, the ratings agency pointed out that there is still $145bn of debt outstanding at just 24 Gulf corporate borrowers, and identified 2012 as a key year for regional debt markets.

The credit environment for corporate issuers in the GCC region will remain challenging, especially for selected vulnerable corporate issuers that need to address significant debt maturities by 2012, says Moody’s Investors Service in a new report on the GCC corporate sector.