Dubai: Khamis Juma'a Bu Amim has replaced Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem as chairman of Drydocks and Maritime World, a subsidiary of Dubai World that has so far been ring-fenced from the debt restructuring effort of the parent.
However, Drydocks Chief Executive Geoffrey Taylor said his firm is also in talks with banks to restructure $1.7 billion (Dh6.2 billion) in debt maturing in November next year.
The Dubai Government Media Office said in a statement yesterday that the Supreme Committee for the Supervision of Dubai World and its Subsidiaries restructured the board of Drydocks World, and named Taylor, Hamed Mohammad Mattar Bin Lahej, Ahmad Eisa Hareb Al Falahi and Khalid Ahmad Bin Turkiya as members.
Taylor will become the chief executive of the company, it said.
Taylor told Reuters in an interview that the company was engaged in "useful and open discussions" with banks and expected to conclude talks over the next few months.
The shipbuilding arm of Dubai World has a $1.7 billion loan maturing in November 2011. Drydocks signed a $2.2 billion loan in October 2008, involving 15 lenders, according to Thomson Reuters.
"We are going through a process of discussions with the banks to restructure our $1.7 billion loan ... Obviously the market changes which occurred significantly slowed down our ability to meet our original schedules," said Taylor.
"We are going through a restructuring process," he added.
Drydocks World, although part of Dubai World, is not included in its parent company's debt restructuring proposal. Dubai World reached a deal with its core lenders to restructure $23.5 billion in debt last month.
"The new board structure will meet the future needs of the company and help position Drydocks World for the next stage of its growth in the UAE, Indonesia and Singapore," the media office statement said.
Taylor said 2010 was expected to be a relatively tough year. While the firm and its competitors survived 2009 on the back of orders won in 2008, the forward ordering that carried the order books through is beginning to wear thin, he said, but he did see signs of a pick-up in the industry.
The company did not receive any orders for 17 months until December last year, said Taylor.
