Dubai World not for sale, Bin Sulayem says

Dubai: Dubai World and its subsidiaries are not for sale, Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of one of Dubai's largest holding companies, said in an interview.

"We are still studying the option of offering stakes of Dubai World companies for public subscription, which is a valid option for companies," Bin Sulayem told the Arabic daily Al Khaleej.

"However, we have not entered negotiations for selling stakes or received any offers," Bin Sulayem said, adding that the issue is not open for discussion.

DP World, one of the group's largest entities last year floated shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.

Dubai World is not facing any financial problems and will not make any of its employees redundant, he said, quashing rumours of downsizing operations of Nakheel - its biggest property development arm.

Coping with queues

"On the contrary, Nakheel has expanded its operations and hired more sales people to cope with the queues at its sales centres, but it may not need this huge number of employees in view of the latest developments in the property sector," Bin Sulayem said.

With regard to DP World's debts, Bin Sulayem said they were not government debts, but bank loans.

"Dubai World did not borrow money to pay salaries, but to build infrastructure and assets for projects that make good revenue," he said.

"At Dubai World, we have no problem paying off our loans and have refinanced to improve previous loan conditions," he added.

The foreign investments of DP World have not been affected by the current global financial crisis, Bin Sulayem said, adding that some of the company's properties were sold at profit equal to the value of its current properties in the US.

"We sold two towers this year and made a profit of $800 million (Dh2.9 billion), which is the value of our properties in the US that include three hotels and an office building," Bin Sulayem said.

He also pointed out that deals were signed last week with the Algerian government to operate a port in Algiers.

Bin Sulayem said he expected the crisis to recede and the credit market to improve in early 2009, citing Bank of America, which has deposits worth $2.4 trillion, and wondering how the bank would pay interest if it did not give loans.

"The UAE Central Bank is required to encourage banks to give loans to end this state of uncertainty," he added.