Dubai's ruler appointed a new board for Dubai World, the flagship conglomerate which struck a deal to restructure $25 billion in debt earlier, appointing his uncle and key adviser as chairman on Sunday.
The UAE's state news agency WAM said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum - who spearheaded Dubai's attempts to recover from last year's crippling debt crisis as head of the Supreme Fiscal Committee (SFC) - was named to the top spot. Sheikh Ahmed is also chairman of Emirates airline and a top adviser to ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Other SFC members were also named to a new board of directors, including Mohammed al-Shaibani and Ahmed Humaid al-Tayer. Dubai finance director Abdulrahman al-Saleh is also a new director. State-owned Dubai World won creditor support from all its creditors in November for a $25 billion restructuring plan, one of the first major milestones in resolving the debt headache which has plagued the Gulf Arab emirate since last year.
In its debt deal, presented to creditors earlier this year and seen by Reuters, Dubai World had said there would be a new managing director and chief financial officer for the company, whose assets range from shipping to real estate. Sunday's announcement made no reference to this.
Observers were divided on Sunday about the ramifications of the move with some viewing it as a confidence boosting move while others fretted that it may signal more issues to come.
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