Banks can buy creditors' debt

Nakheel Properties’ chairman was quoted on Tuesday saying that the company does not object to banks buying debt from their creditors; those waiting for the company to issue their AED 4.8 billion worth of Sukuk as part of their restructuring plans. There have been companies that approached trade creditors of Nakheel with an aim to taking the claims off their hands. The move by SC Lowy Financial is the first clear sign that distressed players are circling Nakheel's $10.9 billion debt restructuring. “Trade and financial creditors of Nakheel are free to deal with their dues the way they want whether by transferring or selling them to others…Nakheel does not interfere in such negotiations because it is a matter between the creditors and investment banks which seek to buy debt,” Lootah said. The developer has offered trade creditors repayment of 40 percent cash and the remaining 60 percent in the form of an Islamic bond, or sukuk. Once its restructuring is complete, Nakheel will be owned by the Dubai government. According to Nakheel’s stakeholders and chairman, this move comes into a positive light, revealing confidence in the company and its future strategies of reconstruction.