Amlak's debt burden cut by $1.1b

The federal government has cut Amlak's debt burden by $1.1 billion (Dh4 billion), the UAE Minister of Economy said yesterday, in the latest effort to revive the Dubai mortgage provider whose stock has been halted since 2008. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said a committee had "succeeded in reducing by some Dh4 billion of total debt owed by the firm and this in coordination with the federal government and the local parties concerned," according to a statement on the ministry's website. Amlak's total liabilities stood at Dh11.01 billion as of September 30, 2011, according to its earnings report on the Dubai Financial Market. In November 2008, the UAE government unveiled plans to merge Amlak with rival Dubai mortgage lender Tamweel after the two firms were hard hit by the emirate's property slowdown. From: Gulfnews