Dubai World pays $8.2bn two years early to complete debt revamp

Dubai World made a final payment of $8.2bn to creditors two years ahead of schedule, completing a debt restructuring that weighed on the emirate for almost a decade.

The government-owned conglomerate made the payment — due in September 2022 — using funds from asset sales, dividend payments and the delisting of port operator DP World, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The company has repaid $18.9bn to creditors since 2011.

Dubai is tackling its debt pile as the emirate seeks to address the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The full repayment represents an important milestone for both Dubai World and for Dubai,” Dubai World chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in the statement. “Dubai World will focus on streamlining and strengthening its efforts to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders.”

Dubai and various government entities held combined outstanding debt of $123bn, or about 110 per cent of its gross domestic product, according to figures at the end of August 2018 cited in a report by the International Monetary Fund.

The repayment was achieved through:

* Funds, including $6bn from Port and Free Zone World

* Asset sales, including the sale of Economic Zones World for $2.7bn

* Dividend payments from portfolio companies, including $1.6bn dividend from Infinity World

* New $3bn loan from Dubai Islamic Bank