International investors focused on distressed debt said they are eyeing opportunities in the Gulf region, where banks may need to make provisions for more non-performing loans as companies navigate global economic headwinds and post-COVID-19 recovery.
Higher interest rates globally and a strong U.S. dollar - to which most regional currencies are pegged - are translating into higher borrowing and other costs in the non-oil private sector.
Corporate restructuring opportunities have improved with the introduction of legislative changes, which are bringing rules more in line with global standards. Some successful examples of these changes have also reduced the stigma attached to insolvency.
For example, Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, introduced a bankruptcy law in 2018 and the United Arab Emirates enacted one in 2016 and amended it in 2020.
On Tuesday, U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner said that investment funds it advises have acquired a non-performing loans portfolio from the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB.AD) worth 4.2 billion dirhams ($1.14 billion).
Executives from distressed debt investors SC Lowy and Fidera have also said they plan to set up a presence in the UAE this year.
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