Al Jaber in debt restructuring talks with lenders

Al Jaber worked on Dubai's Mina A'Salam hotel.

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Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group is in talks with lenders to restructure its debt.

The construction giant, which has assets of more than $5 billion, is estimated to be facing $800-plus million of loans maturing over the next four years.

"Due to the widespread liquidity crises it (Al Jaber) has found it difficult to raise the appropriate finance to secure additional work and maintain its expansion in the region," it confirmed in a statement.

Whatever is agreed, there is a chance that it could be an expensive exercise for the company with lending to private businesses tighter than ever before. It is widely understood that the UAE is viewed as a high risk destination and analysts point out that the low level of private-sector lending in the market make it difficult for private companies to refinance debt cheaply.

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"Some of the very respected private companies are under pressure. We have to be realistic about the fact that the economy is contracting. It will have its knock-on effects right across the spectrum," Terence Allen, managing director of Allied Investment Partners, told The National newspaper.

Martin Kohlhase, a corporate finance analyst at Moody's Investors Service, warned that Al Jaber will have to go through the uneasy process of having its operation heavily scrutinised.

In an interview to Bloomberg, he said: "Purely private players have largely stayed under the radar so far. hem being successful in going to market goes hand in hand with them opening their books, being more transparent and elaborating to investors what their strategy is."