We are all restructurers now, it seems. As Aidan Birkett left the UAE this week having completed his role at the Dubai World conglomerate, I sat down for an hour with AlixPartners, the American company that has advised on some of the biggest restructurings in the US and was also involved with Dubai World.
Later, I spent a day at the annual conference of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in the Middle East. Treasurers play a vital role in any restructuring, helping to avoid the need for it in the first place and implementing the process should it become unavoidable. So there was restructuring talk everywhere.
On Mr Birkett there is little more to be said. He left Dubai World with the "job done" and with the appreciation of the emirate's business leaders. To have pulled off such a big restructuring, involving some US$24.9 billion (Dh88.15bn) of debt owed to more than 90 financial institutions and thousands of trade and customer creditors,in less than a year surely goes down as one of the great achievements of the restructuring business.
Mr Birkett is taking a break to climb the 5,895-metre Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa before returning to the UAE. It's incredible what some people regard as fun, but handling Dubai World's debt mountain will have prepared him well.
AlixPartners offers a different perspective on the restructuring process. The company, based in Detroit, has been active in the Middle East for a while and reinforced its presence this year by opening in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
It comes with a solid pedigree, having been at the centre of some of the biggest and most controversial restructurings ever seen, such as WorldCom, General Motors and Enron.
According to Eric Benedict, the head of the Middle East business at Alix, the job of the restructurers is three-fold: to get a corporate out of trouble; to achieve an operational turnaround; and to advise on forensic aspects of the process in preparation for any litigation that might arise.
Alix performs some of the roles of an investment bank adviser, with the expertise of management consultants and the detailed knowledge of an accountancy, without being labelled as any one of these.
It is a unique set of skills and one very much in demand in the Middle East at the moment. Private and government-related companies preparing for economic recovery in the region need the kind of expertise Alix provides.
When Alix is hired by a company it asks the question: "What can this company do operationally?" Its role is to co-ordinate the work of the other advisers, produce a restructuring plan and then a business plan for the company, and then to execute the details of that plan.
Implementation is all-important. With the financial restructuring complete, Dubai World is at this stage of the process. It will be the responsibility of the new management team to achieve the operational turnaround and the implementation of the business plan.
Alix has plenty of business in the region, as governments and private-sector executives get to grips with what Mr Benedict calls the "tail" of the financial crisis, one he believes will take two years or so to work through.
New business in this period will come in several different forms. There are the plans that many Dubai companies had for initial public offerings that were delayed before the summer, but that now look achievable. Alix helps private companies prepare for market listings, maximising their strengths and installing structures to meet the demands of listed status.
What has to be avoided is another situation like that of Damas International, the jewellery retailer that listed on NASDAQ Dubai only to be engulfed in corporate governance controversy.
Alix also sees business in the private equity field, where investors are looking to find exits from positions in private companies through listing or a private sale. There are plenty of cases in Dubai and Abu Dhabi where private companies with high levels of bank leverage are looking for a way out of that financial straitjacket.
At the Association of Corporate Treasurers gathering, the professionals with whom the restructurers will have to deal - the group treasurers of the region's big corporates - met to discuss the way ahead. In particular, they tried to answer the question: "What are the lessons to be learned from the crisis?"
The answer, it seemed to me as a participant in one of the sessions, was all about risk. Perhaps the treasurers had taken their eyes off the ball to some degree in the run-up to the crisis, but they are now firmly refocused on risk.
The other big theme that emerged was the familiar refrain that more transparency and good corporate governance were needed to minimise risk.
I have had my doubts in the past about the serious commitment of executives in the region to genuine transparency. Many paid lip service to the concept in the good times and only rediscovered it as a serious proposition when the going got tough.
But on a show of hands, the commitment of the treasurers to transparency and governance was overwhelming. A good thing, too. The region will not be able to restructure successfully without it.
fkane@thenational.ae
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
Book%20Details
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Everton
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
When: Sunday, kick-off 7pm (UAE)
How to watch: Live on BeIN Sports 11HD
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
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The%20specs
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.