Dubai repays $910m matured bonds

The Dubai government said Sunday it has repaid in full $910 million of maturing bonds, declaring it reflected a commitment of the indebted Gulf emirate to honour its obligations. "All the outstanding notes were redeemed in full," upon maturity on April 23, the government said in a statement referring to the bond issue valued at 3.34 billion dirhams ($910 million). The bonds were issued under the government's 15-billion-dirham Medium Term Note Programme dated April 14, 2008, it said, adding repayments included all outstanding notes and accrued interest. "This repayment reaffirms Dubai government's commitment to deal with its repayment obligations in a proactive manner," said Abdulrahman Saleh al-Saleh, head of the finance department. "It also strengthens the government's resolve to honour all its financial obligations on time," he was quoted as saying in the statement. Dubai rocked global markets in 2009 when its largest group Dubai World signalled a need to freeze payments on debt exceeding $26 billion, before getting government help and reaching an agreement with lenders to restructure $14.7 billion. The emirate's economy contracted 2.4 percent in 2009, but it has since made a comeback, growing 2.8 percent in 2010 and 3.4 percent in 2011, as tourism, trade and transport keep expanding.