Dubai World gets new board of directors

DUBAI - Dubai World, one of the UAE’s most troubled investment concerns, announced Sunday that it had received a new board of directors to oversee the company’s strategies and financial affairs.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashed, the ruler of Dubai, appointed the new board which will be lead by Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority.

According to the company’s press release, the board of directors includes several heads of the emirate’s financial bodies, such as Ahmed Al Tayer, governor of Dubai International Financial Centre and Abdul Rahman Saleh, director general of Dubai’s Department of Finance.

The board is be tasked with overseeing the financial affairs and strategies of Dubai World and its subsidiaries, including investment and annual budget decisions.

The board will also oversee the ongoing restructuring of Dubai World. The company said in September that its restructuring plan had been approved by most of its creditors.

After the global economic crisis hit, Dubai World - which manages and supervises a portfolio of holdings and ventures for the Dubai government - was unable to pay back massive loans used to fuel a construction boom. It froze its debt repayments in late 2009.

The move spooked global markets, especially as fears mounted over a sovereign default. Dubai, a city-state within the United Arab Emirates, has total outstanding debt estimated at just over $100 billion, though some observers have given a higher figure.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Dubai is expected to exit the recession this year and post 0.5 percent growth, a figure far below pre-crisis levels. In the first half of the last decade, the emirate was averaging double-digit growth each year.