Drydocks World plans to pay creditors $90m

Dubai: Drydocks World LLC, the ship repair unit of Dubai World, plans to pay $90 million (Dh330 million) that is due to trade creditors by the end of April, according to the company's chairman Khamis Bu Amim.

Bu Amim said the company has met with its international trade creditors this week, "and has informed them of the restructuring process that the company is currently undergoing".

They were informed that they will be paid by the end of April under the terms of a debt restructuring deal.

Other obligations are still being investigated and will be paid "as long as they prove rightful and compliant with the standards and procedures" of the restructuring deal, Bu Amim said.

Meanwhile, Drydocks World is also in talks with its bank creditors about restructuring a $2.2 billion syndicated loan that dates back to 2007, Bu Amim said.

He hopes to reach an agreement by the end of April.

All the Drydocks World debt being restructured dates back to the period before August 2010, and the company has been self-funded since then, Bu Amim said.

Settlement

Bu Amim denied reports that Drydocks World is still being sued in the Singapore courts for non-payment of suppliers. He said the cases "have been concluded and a settlement was reached in February. These are old cases of payment orders and are not lawsuits".

Bu Amim said that Drydocks World and Maritime World, a related company for which he is also chairman, will be issuing a full statement by tomorrow with a further explanation.

The Dubai World conglomerate last year agreed with its creditors to restructure debt of about $25 billion, after it sought a standstill agreement on its debts in late 2009.