DIFC Investments in merger talks

Dubai: DIFC Investments, a unit of the Dubai International Financial Centre business park, is in talks with Investment Corp of Dubai on the possibility of merging its assets into the state-owned holding company.

"There is a dialogue between ICD and DIFC Investments on the possibility of swapping or merging some of the portfolio companies of DIFC Investments with ICD," DIFC Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Mohammad Al Awar told reporters in Dubai yesterday. "We continue to manage the portfolio of DIFC Investments. However, there is focus on managing the various costs and setting up a proper divestment plan for non-core investments."

DIFC Investments owns and operates office buildings in the tax-free DIFC, which is home to the regional offices of banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley. The company, which has a $1.25 billion (Dh4.58 billion) Islamic bond due in June 2012, had its outlook changed to negative by Standard & Poor's in August as its plan to raise $1 billion from asset sales by 2011 end faces uncertainties.

DIFC Investments won't be making any new investments and "there has been a closer interaction with ICD and the government authorities", Al Awar said yesterday. The company's 2010 loss narrowed to $274.7 million from $561.4 million a year earlier as write-downs on property declined, it said in May.