Dubai: Jebel Ali Free Zone, JAFZ, Dubai’s flagship business and one of the leading free zones in the world, has made early repayment of its Dh2 billion Islamic loan facility to banks nearly four and a half years ahead of scheduled maturity in June, 2020.
After this repayment, JAFZ will have only one external debt of $650m (Dh2.3 billion) due under Sukuk maturing in June, 2019.
The Islamic facility was arranged in June 2012 to partly refinance its maturing Sukuk issued earlier in 2007.
Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Economic Zones World, commenting on the Free Zone’s remarkable achievement said, “This is perhaps the most significant milestone in the history of JAFZ. Early repayment manifests the true commitment of the shareholder and Government of Dubai to reduce the debt of overall Dubai World Group. The continued successful operational performance of the Free Zone enabled it to generate enough cash to clear its debt much ahead of the maturity date.”
