Dubai World assets top $120bn at end of 2009
State-linked Dubai World’s property and investment assets exceeded $120bn (£74.5bn) at the end of 2009 and could cover its debt of $57bn, an Arabic-language daily newspaper said yesterday.
Citing a recent internal report shared with creditors, Al Ittihad newspaper said the value of the company’s property assets dropped around 35 per cent in 2009, compared with $157bn in 2008.
“The drop in the value of investment and strategic assets for the group did not exceed 20 per cent,” the paper said.
Dubai World is one of Dubai’s largest conglomerates. The group came under fire last November when it said it would restructure $26bn in debt. Dubai is one of seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was forced to rely on bailout funding from fellow UAE member Abu Dhabi after fears about the emirate defaulting on its debts caused a property market crash at the end of 2009. The world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi following his approval of the rescue funding.