Dubai Boom No Boon for Builders as Bill Delays Rise: Arab Credit

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Dubai’s two biggest builders are turning to bank borrowing to help fund projects as a rise in late payments from their customers takes the shine off a booming construction market.

Arabtec Holding PJSC, the contractor that helped push Dubai stocks into a bear market in June, said money owed by clients rose to 8.8 billion dirhams ($2.4 billion) through the second quarter from 7.2 billion dirhams at the end of 2013. Drake & Scull International, the emirate’s second-largest publicly traded builder, took two term loans totaling about 199 million dirhams in the first half, according to its financial statements.