Dubai: A former British government minister and adviser to the G20 chair has been in Dubai for several weeks and played a key role in hammering out a debt proposal for Dubai World, sources said Wednesday.
Shriti Vadera was quietly despatched to Dubai by the British government after British banks who form the bulk of an informal creditor committee negotiating with Dubai World on how it will repay $26 billion (Dh95.4 billion) in debt raised concerns about the process to London, one source said.
A second source confirmed her presence in Dubai as well as her participation in the drafting of the debt proposal.
Dubai World was locked in a meeting with core creditors at a Dubai hotel yesterday.
The state-owned conglomerate's plan is expected to include an extension of debt maturities at low to zero interest rates.
Vadera, a former investment banker who was a close adviser to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has kept a low profile in Dubai and made no official public appearances.
Vadera was a UK business minister until it was announced in September that she would become adviser to the chair of the G20 group of nations, South Korea.
Creditors
The panel of creditor representatives meeting with Dubai World includes Standard Chartered, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as local banks Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which are believed to have two-thirds of the total exposure.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the seventh member.
