The promise in Dubai's news

Four months of negotiations ended last Wednesday in a windowless Dubai hotel conference room where Dubai World tabled its restructuring proposal to a small gathering of creditors. Investors breathed a sigh of relief the following morning when the terms of the offer were made public. Markets rallied and contractor creditors greeted the offer with cautious optimism. Granted, the 97 bank creditors must still decide whether the proposal is acceptable. But the formula for a possible restructuring of US$23.5 billion (Dh86.31bn) of Dubai World's debt looks likely to make life easier not just for local banks, but also for customers seeking to obtain loans to buy cars, homes and other items. The trickle-down effect could also help to relieve the pressure on the country's financial system created by bad loans. If Nakheel were to fully repay its small builders - those to which it owes as much as Dh500,000 each - and partially satisfy its obligation to its bigger builders, new cash would flow into the system. Subcontractors, many of whom borrowed from banks, could repay their loans. That at least, is the theory. "The biggest positive for me is that the trade creditors would be paid a lot of money," says Deepak Tolani, an analyst at Al Mal Capital in Dubai. "That puts cash in the hands of trade creditors, and subcontractors will start to get repaid." The 40 per cent cash payment proposed by Dubai World implies nearly $4bn going to contractors, according to calculations by Saud Masud, an analyst at UBS in Dubai. "There were so many contractors who were not being paid in time and kept rolling over their credit facilities," says John Tofarides, an analyst at Moody's Investors Service in Dubai. "Some of that money could be directed back to the banks, and that should mobilise some new lending elsewhere." A second major part of the proposal - the full repayment of two Nakheel sukuk valued at an overall $1.8bn and due this year and next year - would also be expected to benefit local banks. According to the IMF, banks in the UAE hold 80 per cent of the Nakheel sukuk. Repayment by the property developer would also return cash to the system. Also significant is that because the proposal does not foresee any immediate haircuts, large write-offs by local banks would be averted, at least in the near term. Local banks have already been hit hard by the downturn in the general economy, and especially in the property sector. Consequently, the value of many of the assets on their books has been greatly reduced. But while more cash makes everyone happier at first, it is unclear how much new lending Nakheel's repayments would generate. "The proposal definitely lifts the cloud hanging over stocks, including bank stocks, but the liquidity issue is still there," Mr Tolani cautions. In recent months, growth in lending and customer deposits has been sluggish. Bankers regularly call on the Central Bank to inject fresh liquidity into the system. Instead, the regulator points to its well-capitalised banks and insists it has made available Dh120bn of additional facilities since late 2008. UAE banks are capitalised at an average 20 per cent, which is far higher than the average for their international peers. However, international and local banks have cut back on fresh lending, and interest rates remain stubbornly high. Bank profits fell sharply last year after banks began making higher provisions because of non-performing loans. Layoffs among workers, the fall in property prices and a trade slowdown have caused a growing number of commercial and retail customers to default on their loans. The Central Bank expects the proportion of non-performing loans at UAE banks to rise to an average of 6.5 per cent this year. Some analysts believe the figure could rise as high as 10 per cent, if the local levels of non-performing loans for Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC, the two biggest international lenders in the country, are anything to go by. Last year, they had estimated non-performing-loan rates of 9.5 and 12.2 per cent, respectively. "It still does not mean that banks will now lend to everybody," says Janany Vamadeva, an analyst at Al Futtaim HC Securities in Dubai. "However, this restructuring deal would remove a major unknown and could boost the macroeconomic situation." Until last Thursday, when they received news of the debt proposal, many banks had feared having to accept significant haircuts on their loans to Dubai World. A 40 per cent haircut, for example, means a debtor pays back only $60 dollars of his $100 dollar loan principal. In that case, the bank has to write off $40. For some lenders, such as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which lent Dh9bn to Dubai World, any haircut would have seriously impaired their profitability. Some analysts say that if large haircuts had been imposed, some banks might have had to raise fresh capital. Any solution involving rolling over old debt into new debt means few or no write-offs for banks. It is unclear even among analysts whether banks would have to write off lost income or income not earned if they received lower interest payments on loans to Dubai World that were rolled over. In the meantime, many hope that a settlement between Dubai World and its creditors triggers the desired resumption in bank lending. "This gives a boost of confidence into the banking system because it shows that Dubai has the willingness to support Dubai World and Nakheel," Mr Tofarides says. uharnischfeger@thenational.ae

Bundesliga fixtures

Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)

RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)

Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)

Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)

Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)

Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),

Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

Monday, May 18

Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Take Me Apart

Kelela

(Warp)

Company profile

Date started: January, 2014

Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe

Based: Dubai

Sector: Education technology

Size: Five employees

Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.

Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)

The%20specs

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More on animal trafficking

Falcon demand driving region's bird smuggling trade

UAE ranks high for animal trafficking as smugglers target Dubai International Airport, report finds

Racecard

6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m

7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m

8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)

8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m

9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m

10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

Started: 2020

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment

Number of staff: 210

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic

Company%20profile

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: BorrowMe (

BorrowMe.com)

Date started: August 2021

Founder: Nour Sabri

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace

Size: Two employees

Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)

The Pope's itinerary

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport

Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial

Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin

INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS

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Brief scores

Barcelona 2

Pique 36', Alena 87'

Villarreal 0

COMPANY%20PROFILE

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