Dubai Group Says Interest Is Rolled Over During Debt Talks

Dubai Group LLC is seeking an agreement with creditors and interest payments are being rolled over during the negotiations, a company spokesperson said.

Dubai Group, controlled by Dubai Holding LLC, is one of several companies in the emirate seeking to alter terms on borrowings after property prices slumped amid the global financial crisis, limiting access to credit markets.

The spokesperson, who declined to be identified because of company policy, commented in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg after Reuters reported yesterday the group made no interest payments on $10 billion of debt since August 2010.

Dubai Group is restructuring $10 billion of liabilities, up from an original estimate of $6 billion, two people with knowledge of the discussions said in April. The company appointed eight banks to represent creditors in two committees in January to help speed up an agreement. The restructuring may be completed by the end of this year or early next year, Hussain al Qemzi, chief executive officer of Noor Islamic Bank PJSC, one of the banks negotiating the deal, said Oct. 10.

Dubai World, a state-owned holding company, in March signed an accord with its creditors on about $25 billion of debt, marking the end of a credit crisis that roiled markets in 2009.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stefania Bianchi in Dubai at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net; Dana El Baltaji in Dubai at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maher Chmaytelli at mchmaytelli@bloomberg.net