They are tricky affairs, corporate restructurings. No sooner have they apparently been nailed down and signed off, when circumstances change and you have to start all over again.
The dynamics between the corporate and its creditors are complicated enough, with dozens, perhaps hundreds of lenders negotiating over a myriad different kinds of debts.
Market conditions are always in the background, with the unpredictable capacity to throw the process off track by changing valuations, interest rates or terms of trade.
When you throw into the equation - as often happens in the UAE - a government-related entity as one of the stakeholder parties, with its own particular interests and priorities, it makes any restructuring a truly moveable feast, subject to vagaries and variables at any stage of the process.
Take, for example, the long-drawn out restructuring of Al Jaber Group. The Abu Dhabi conglomerate, best known as an infrastructure contractor with a workforce of up to 60,000 people, has been in talks with creditors since late 2010 about debts it found impossible to service.
Many companies were in the same position back then, of course. When the corporates had exposure to government contracts, at a time when governments were cutting back expenditure in the newly harsh economic conditions, their problems were all the greater.
But when the restructuring experts scrutinised Al Jaber, they found complications. Straightforward bank debts, in the form of loans and overdrafts totalling about US$2 billion (Dh7.35bn), were accompanied by another form of financial liability in the form of performance bonds and guarantees that raised the total to as much as $4.5bn.
Furthermore, and to demonstrate the capricious nature of the restructuring process, some creditors had seen their exposures jump alarmingly.
Al Jaber did a lot of business with Japan, and used financial instruments to hedge its foreign currency exposure. The Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, and resulting financial crisis, made a nonsense of these hedging calculations, hugely increasing some creditors' exposure.
No wonder the Al Jaber restructuring has taken so long. The good news is that progress has been made in recent months and bankers should be in a position soon to consider proposals for repayment - unless another unforseeable event occurs.
The template for restructurings in the UAE was the Dubai World (DW) situation in 2010, but the way this has worked out since demonstrates once more the restructurers' vulnerability to external conditions.
Back then, repayment of DW's total debt of about $25bn was rescheduled on a timescale between five and eight years ahead. It was complicated by the presence of property group Nakheel as a major debtor within DW, but that in essence was the deal.
Debts would be repaid, beginning 2015 and going on until 2018, at rather less advantageous terms to creditors, but the banks took the view that it was better to get some money back then and put the whole affair behind it.
Nobody expected DW entities to generate enough cash to repay $25bn, even in the most benign economic environment, so asset sales were planned from the outset. Some have come through, at significant losses to DW it must be said, but nowhere near enough to begin chipping away at the debt mountain. Now DW faces the first repayments in less than two years, and unless asset values recover unexpectedly and extraordinarily in that period, it will have to begin the restructuring process all over again. The restructuring profession is licking its lips at the prospect.
Incidentally, there is one DW asset that could be sold and would transform the situation: it holds 80 per cent of the listed ports operator DP World, which is worth nearly $9bn.
But there appears to be no appetite from the government-related owner to sell any of its shares, perhaps on the principle of not wanting to throw good money after bad. Such are the complications of having a government stakeholder.
So the restructurer's lot is not a simple one. No doubt the lucrative nature of the compensation makes it happy though.
fkane@thenational.ae
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)
Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14
Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)
Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31
Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E261hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400Nm%20at%201%2C750-4%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.5L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C999%20(VX%20Luxury)%3B%20from%20Dh149%2C999%20(VX%20Black%20Gold)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
