Dubai hires consultants to attract investment

Dubai, December 29, 2009

The emirate of Dubai has hired foreign consultants to attract more investments after its reputation was hit following the shock announcements of debt repayment problems at its flagship companies.

Dubai's Foreign Investment Office signed an agreement with consultants A T Kearney and its affiliated think-tank Global Business Policy Council, according to a joint statement on Tuesday.

The partners gave no details, saying only they wanted to develop "new policy tools".

Dubai, a member of the UAE federation, shocked the financial world on November 25 when it announced it would seek a repayment freeze on billions of dollars of debt for its property firms.

The wealthier emirate of Abu Dhabi intervened with a last-minute, $10 billion rescue to stave off Dubai's default on a $4.1 billion bond from one of the state companies.

Since then, state-owned conglomerate Dubai World disappointed creditors by making little progress on securing standstill on $22 billion of debt. – Reuters

Tags: Dubai | investment | Consultants | A T Kearney | Global Business Policy Council |