Dubai ruler reshuffles board of investment corporation.Byline: Daily Star Staff Summary: Dubai's weekend shake-up of boom-era leaders from flagship institutions is a move to introduce conservative management as the indebted emirate e·mir·ate n. 1. The office of an emir. 2. The nation or territory ruled by an emir. Noun 1. emirate - the domain controlled by an emir courts investors for its $10 billion bond plan, analysts said on Sunday.AaIn a surprise move over the weekend, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh sheikh or shaykh Among Arabic-speaking tribes, especially Bedouin, the male head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure. The sheikh is generally assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders. Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, reshuffled the board of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD ICD International Classification of Diseases (of the World Health Organization); intrauterine contraceptive device. ICD abbr. ). Rania OteifyAa ReutersAa Aa DUBAI: Dubai's weekend shake-up of boom-era leaders from flagship institutions is a move to introduce conservative management as the indebted emirate courts investors for its $10 billion bond plan, analysts said on Sunday.AaIn a surprise move over the weekend, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, reshuffled the board of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), which manages his wealth, and the chief of the Dubai International Financial Center. "These personnel changes appear to be the latest step in a sequenced shift of policy emphasis," said Tristan Cooper, senior analyst of Moody's Middle East. The policy shift is to move "away from the debt-financed adventurism ad·ven·tur·ism n. Involvement in risky enterprises without regard to proper procedures and possible consequences, especially the reckless intervention by a nation in the affairs of another nation or region: of the boom years to a more conservative stewardship of Dubai's resources," he added.Aa The emirate -- one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates, federation of sheikhdoms (2005 est. pop. 2,563,000), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. federation -- and its state-linked firms have outstanding debt of about $80 billion, much of it incurred during a drive that saw Dubai expand activities in logistics, financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , property and luxury retail and tourism. The downturn hit Dubai's property sector particularly hard, leading to cancellations or delays and substantial job cuts.Aa Dubai is now in the process of launching a $10 billion bond tranche, the second part of a $20 billion sovereign program aimed at supporting state-linked firms hit by the credit crunch Credit Crunch An economic condition whereby investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and investors become weary of lending funds to corporations thereby driving up the price of debt products for borrowers. . The ICD shake-out led to the departure of long-serving Mohammad Alabbar and Mohammad al-Gergawi, chiefs of Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding respectively. Sheikh Mohammad named two of his sons as directors.Aa A second decree ousted Omar Bin Suleiman from the helm of the Dubai International Financial Center, the flagship freezone for banks and investment firms in Dubai, and assigned the role to former minister and veteran banker Ahmad Humaid al-Tayer.Aa The sheikh said the move was to improve performance in the Dubai government and related departments.Aa The three tycoons were leaders of the emirate's property boom, which produced nearly $80 billion in debt and which has now turned to bust.Aa "The three lieutenants were involved in Dubai's growth and when you have bold vision, you need to finance those visions. They were given authority and license to develop Dubai and they did what they were asked to do," said Khuram Maqsood, managing director of Emirates Capital.Aa "But the net result was that Dubai got built on a bad balance sheet. And now you have a built Dubai but you're stuck with a bad balance sheet," he added.Aa Mohieddine Kronfol, managing director of asset management at Algebra Capital, believes it is another significant step in addressing some of the structural challenges facing the government of Dubai. "Any action aimed at navigating these challenges should be perceived as positive," he adds.Aa Alabbar declined to comment on the changes over the weekend, while Gergawi could not be reached for comment. Copyright 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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