A major Dubai property investment fund is in the spotlight after its lenders blocked a debt restructuring plan and raised “serious concerns” about its transparency and governance.
Dubais asuv Emirates REIT oli sunnitud oma 400 miljoni dollari suuruse islamivõlakirja ümberkorraldamise ettepaneku tagasi võtma pärast haruldast investorite aktivismikampaaniat – midagi, mida konservatiivses Pärsia lahe piirkonnas tavaliselt ei nähta.
Emirates REIT, the largest Sharia-compliant real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United Arab Emirates, confirmed on Monday that it failed to get the 75% of shareholder votes needed to go ahead with the restructure, which would have included delaying the bond’s maturity date by two years to 2024.
“Emirates REIT has therefore decided to rescind the voluntary offer and will continue to work on enhancing the capital structure for the benefit of all equity and debt holders within the REIT,” it said in a statement on Monday.
Pendelrändurid sõidavad mööda Sheikh Zayedi teed mööda äri- ja elamukinnistuid Dubais, Araabia Ühendemiraatides.
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Šariaadi järgimine tähendab, et kõnealuste fondide või usaldusfondide suhtes kehtivad šariaadiseaduse ja islami religioossete põhimõtete parameetrid, mis hõlmavad kasumilt intressi võtmise keelamist ja selliste investeeringute keelamist, mis saavad suurema osa nende tuludest alkoholist, hasartmängudest, sealihast, pornograafiast ja relvade müük.
Aktivistidest investorite võit?
Eleven institutional creditors, including Scotland’s Aberdeen Standard Investments, successfully campaigned to have the deal scrapped. The group in a June 2 statement said its opposition reflected the “serious concerns” that lenders had regarding “weak governance, cash leakage and continued lack of transparency” at Emirates REIT.
“What concerns me the most is the utter and complete lack of transparency from the company,” said Ahmad Alanani, CEO of Dubai-based Sancta Capital, which was also part of the creditor group.
Dissenting creditors claim Equitativa, the REIT manager, failed to offer an explanation of the company’s liquidity profile, its ability to repay at the proposed maturity, and provide information about an ongoing regulatory probe. Rothschild was among the institutions hired as advisors to the bondholders opposing the changes.
“What is the current status of the investigation with the regulator? What is the basis of the valuation of the assets of the REIT? What is the current liquidity position of the REIT? What is the business plan and forecast projections?” Alanani told CNBC’s Capital Connection.
“The company provides a level of disclosure that can best be described as basic,” he added.
Equitativa lükkas rühmituste väited tagasi ja teatas, et teeb koostööd kohaliku reguleeriva asutuse, Dubai finantsteenuste ameti poolt käimasoleva uurimisega.
“I believe the company proactively and voluntarily put forward a straightforward transaction which was fairly and explicitly designed to enhance the tradability of the Sukuk,” Arun Reddy, managing director at U.S.-based investment bank Houlihan Lokey, an advisor to Emirates REIT, said in a statement on Monday. Sukuk is the Arabic word for an Islamic bond, an instrument whose popularity has grown rapidly in recent years.
Houlihan Lokey on öelnud, et nõustab Emirates REIT-i bilansi parandamise viiside osas, sealhulgas võimaliku kohaliku börsi Nasdaq Dubai börsilt lahkumise osas.
Reitinguagentuur Fitch eelmise kuu lõpus downgraded Emirates REIT’s credit rating several notches from ‘B+’ to ‘C’, the final rating before a borrower defaults on its debt. Fitch said the firm’s proposed bond alteration was a “material reduction in terms for lenders.”
Esmaspäeval, 8. juunil 2020 mööduvad jetid elamute pilvelõhkujatest vee ääres Dubai Marina linnaosas Dubais, Araabia Ühendemiraatides.
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Emirates REIT oli palunud võlaomanikel vahetada oma tagatiseta võlakirjad tagatud, kuid pikema tähtajaga alternatiiviga, püüdes oma bilanssi pandeemiast tingitud kinnisvara- ja majanduslanguse tingimustes Dubais tugevdada.
Emirates REIT ütles, et selge enamus hääleõiguslikest Sukuki omanikest (57%) hääletas selle ettepaneku poolt. Samuti teatas ta, et tema võlaga ei ole olnud maksejõuetust ega ühtegi lõpetamissündmust.
Selle elamu-, äri- ja haridusvarade portfelli väärtus oli viimati 690 miljonit dollarit. Ettevõte teatas, et tal on raha, et maksta aktsionäridele sel kuul eelseisev dividendimakse – väärtuses 10.2 miljonit dollarit. Teine makse tuleb tasuda detsembris.
‘The UAE is not immune’
Võlavaidlus tekib, kuna AÜE püüab tugevdada oma mainet äri- ja finantskeskusena pärast mitmeid kõrgetasemelisi skandaale, sealhulgas Abu Dhabis asuva haiglaoperaatori NMC ja Dubais asuva erakapitaliettevõtte Abraaj kokkuvarisemine. .
“The fact that the REIT and the REIT manager are under investigation really speaks to a level of oversight,” Alanani said in defense of the local regulator. “The UAE is not immune to fraud or governance issues. This happens everywhere.”
“We need to sit in good faith, engage constructively with all stakeholders at the table, and find a way forward,” he added.
The UAE’s economy — the Arab world’s second largest — contracted by 6% in 2020, according to its central bank, while Dubai’s economy contracted by roughly 11%, according to S&P. The ratings agency doesn’t see the city’s economy returning to pre-crisis levels until 2023.
