Local banks will continue to help struggling small businesses restructure debt even after President Sheikh Khalifa ratified a bankruptcy law, according to a spokesman at the UAE Banks Federation.
The federation said in September that an initiative among local banks to bail out small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has helped to restructure some Dh7 billion of debt owed by more than 1,700 companies this year.
At the same time the spokesman hailed the ratification of the law, saying that it will help struggling business owners to restructure debt, reducing the temptation to skip town, as well as giving the economy a boost. Banks are also upbeat, as it will mean less money put aside to cover bad debt.
“The approval of the federal bankruptcy law will catalyse a stronger and more favourable investment climate in the UAE that allows for increased financing for SMEs,” said Suvo Sarkar, the head of retail banking at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets.
“From our perspective, the law will help reduce the burden of bad debt for lenders, leading to improved asset quality in the medium to long term.”
The IMF said last week that the law would give a much-needed shot in the arm to non-oil GDP growth in the country.
“This has been on the cards for a long time,” said Masood Ahmed, the regional head of the IMF. “The fact that they’ve done this is a plus, in my mind.”
The lack of insolvency regulations during Dubai’s credit crisis between 2009 and 2010 led to a number of businessmen being detained for unpaid debts, with many fleeing the country to avoid arrest.
That scenario has been replaying itself on a much smaller scale over the past two years as small businesses face difficulty in repaying debt amid the collapse of oil prices and the subsequent fall in government spending.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, the chief executive of Mashreq and the head of the UAE Banks Federation, said in November that some small business owners had skipped town, leaving about Dh5bn of unsettled loans.
As well as protecting financially strapped businessmen from criminal prosecution – except in cases of fraud – the law is also expected to encourage more people to try out their entrepreneurial skills.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
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The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
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FIGHT%20CARD
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
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Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
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Catchweight 90kg
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Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
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Middleweight
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Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
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Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
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Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
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Stage seven
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General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
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3.15pm: Inverleigh
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
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Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
