Morning round-up: Nakheel speaks

After half a year of guarded statements from

Nakheel

's public relations team, the chief executive,

Chris O'Donnell

,

. The only issue is that he gave another guarded statement in the form of a Q-and-A to Emirates Business 24/7 - a clever tactic for someone being very careful about what he says. The highlight: Nakheel is receiving funds from the Government. And that's about it.

Just a quick mention of the top news of the day:

Abraaj Capital

to

DP World

for a "significant minority stake". This affects the property sector because the parent company of DP World,

Dubai World

, also owns Nakheel, which has some serious cash needs this year. For one, it has US$3.5bn in debt coming due in the autumn. Nakheel is getting some support from the Government, but it is not yet clear how much, so this deal has the potential to provide the company with more funds to deal with these challenges.

Arabtec

from

International Capital Trading

to build Nation Towers, a residential and office project on the corniche in Abu Dhabi. Riad Kamal, the chief executive of Arabtec, said the company was still a lot of money, but things are getting better. "The money is actually flowing," he said. "It's just that it has to flow faster." See this article from earlier in the week about

.

The

Dubai Land Department

, according to Emirates Business 24/7, which is in turn quoting Emirates al Youm. (And which is now being summarised on

Crane Country

). Those developers are having difficulty meeting the conditions of the

Real Estate Regulatory Agency

, the newspaper said.

Ruwaad Holdings

is

, despite pressure from local Zulu tribesmen.

Hayan Merchant

, the chief executive, said that the social engagement with the tribesmen is being handled by the Government.

Drake & Scull

is planning

by the third quarter of the year, Gulf News reports.

, compared to the month before, because of higher demand and freight costs. Steel cost US$500 per tonne in April, compared to $430 the month before.