The Dubai conglomerate that owns Dubai Properties and Tecom is set to pay off its last major chunk of public debt.
Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), the operating arm of conglomerate Dubai Holding, said on Tuesday it will repay the principal and accrued interest on its £500 million (Dh2.28 billion) bond maturing on Wednesday from Dubai Holding resources.
“Following the repayment of the GBP500 million bond, Dubai Holding will have no public debt outstanding,” it said in a statement on Nasdaq Dubai.
Dubai Holding, along with Dubai World and Investment Corporation of Dubai is one of the big three investment groups in the emirate which together hold some of its most prized assets across a number of sectors and industries.
The bond is part of the DHCOG’s multi-currency medium-term notes programme issued in 2007.
DHCOG reported a 25 per cent increase in net profit for 2015 to Dh5.83bn, and set a target for profit to beat Dh10bn by 2020.
DHCOG operates some of the best-known businesses in Dubai on behalf of the state-owned investment company Dubai Holding.
These include the developer Dubai Properties, the business parks operator Tecom Group (Tecom), the Jumeirah Group (Jumeirah) hospitality business and Emirates International Telecommunications, which operates the du brand.
Other Dubai government-related entities have been reducing their debt obligations built up during the emirate’s boom years when debt finance was easier to tap. Some of these groups were forced to sell assets and restructure debts in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and property crash.
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