Minister predicts Dubai can ride out latest debt crunch

Dubai :  Dubai will ride out its latest financial matters without a federal bailout for another major investment company seeking postponement of debt repayments, the UAE minister of economy said yesterday.

Dubai International Capital asked lenders for a three-month extension on repaying some of its debt. DIC did not provide details of the debt involved except to say the request involves "certain maturities".

The company has a $1.25 billion loan coming due in June.

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, minister of economy, said the Abu Dhabi-based federal authorities were not "interfering" and predicted the company will not need major restructuring or a bailout to sort out its finances.

"I don't expect a massive restructuring [of DIC]," Al Mansouri said, adding that there was "no need to overreact" to the company's request on Thursday to postpone some of its debt payments until September 30.