Drydocks World's chairman, Khamis Juma Buamim, will chair the new company. Razan Alzayani / The National
Drydocks World's chairman, Khamis Juma Buamim, will chair the new company. Razan Alzayani / The National

Drydocks World in Asian joint venture



Drydocks World has set up a joint venture with Singapore's Kuok Group to run its Asian operations as it works towards completing a huge debt restructuring plan.

The shipbuilding and repair company's Asian business consists of four shipyards in Singapore and Indonesia as well as a fleet of more than 100 tankers, cargo ships, tugboats, barges and other vessels.

The new venture, a partnership with Kuok's Pacific Carrier, will be named DDW-PaxOcean Asia and will be based in Singapore. Drydocks World's chairman, Khamis Juma Buamim, will chair the new company.

"This is joint venture of true value. It is not a takeover. It is not a process where people are running away from their responsibilities or anything like that," Mr Buamim said after the signing.

He added the joint venture would be positive for the company's ongoing US$2.2 billion (Dh8.08bn) debt restructuring and said Drydocks World, based in Dubai, had been working on the deal since at least December, when the possibility of sharing control of its Asian businesses was first discussed.

The new group, to be based in Singapore, will be active in nine countries, own about 300 vessels and operate six shipyards, officials at the two companies said.

However, Drydocks World's huge complex near Dubai's Maritime City - the largest drydocks in the world - will not come under the new joint venture.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed but both companies said the agreement was scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Pacific Carriers executives declined to say how much of a stake Robert Kuok, a Malaysian tycoon, would have in the venture.

Pacific Carriers is focused on ship management, freight trading and offshore marine services.

Mr Kuok has investments which include the Shangri-La hotel chain as well as the English-language newspaper South China Morning Post, based in Hong Kong, and property holdings around the world.

Drydocks World is owned by the government-controlled conglomerate Dubai World. Most of Drydocks World's creditor banks have already agreed to a deal to draw down its debt, which stems from the financing it needed to raise to purchase the Asian assets in 2007.

The company managed to get more than the required two thirds of lenders to back the scheme. A minority of the creditors, including the hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital, had resisted the restructuring, said Mr Buamim.

He also confirmed that once the debt deal was complete, the shipyard's focus would be on supplying and servicing the energy sector.

"We had to think seriously what would happen in the next 15 to 25 years, and we plotted it out.

"The data indicated that the only industry that has a growth cycle up to 2030 in some cases is the oil and gas and energy industry," said Mr Buamim.

Dubai World, sent markets reeling in 2009 when it acknowledged it was unable to pay back billions of dollars it owed. It signed an agreement to restructure some $24.9bn in debt last March, however, and Drydocks World was not included in that process.

Drydocks World was advised by DBS Bank, Clifford Chance and McKinsey, while Allen & Gledhill was adviser to Kuok.

LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Stoke City v Tottenham

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Arsenal v Manchester City

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All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.

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'Nope'
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The bio

Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district

Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school

Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family

His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people

Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned

Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

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Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20TV%204K%20(THIRD%20GENERATION)
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.

The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.

All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.

No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

The biog

Born: High Wycombe, England

Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels

Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.

Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.

Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

THE BIO

Age: 33

Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill

Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.

Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?

Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in

Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

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