#Dubai government establishes debt management office, appoints CEO | Reuters

Dubai government establishes debt management office, appoints CEO | Reuters

The Dubai Government said on Monday that it has established a debt management office (DMO) and appointed Rashid Ali bin Obood Al-Falasi as its chief executive, in a move analysts say will streamline debt issuance and improve transparency.

The DMO will manage the sovereign debt portfolio and will be responsible for meeting the government's financing requirements, the government said in its statement.

Borrowing costs are on the rise globally, and Gulf central banks last week raised interest rates by 50 basis points, following in the footsteps of the U.S. Federal Reserve, as inflation sits at highs not seen in decades. read more

Bankers say the move to set up a DMO will help attract debt investors like global money managers in a region where public markets dwarf equity markets.

"We see this as another positive move to strengthen the fiscal framework, alongside the measures to deepen government revenue. Improved transparency and a debt management strategy could also potentially help reduce the cost of raising debt," said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.