Limitless seeks debt delay, set to miss UAE boom

[DUBAI] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) property boom may be passing Limitless LLC by, as the developer that split off from Dubai World in the fallout following the 2008 credit crunch seeks to delay a loan payment.

The company asked lenders if it can defer a US$400 million repayment due in December, the first instalment of a restructured US$1.2 billion Islamic loan, according to two people who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Limitless offered banks 200 million dirhams (S$68 million) in cash towards the payment, they said. The company wants to delay the repayment by a year.

Property prices in Dubai, one of seven sheikhdoms that make up the UAE, rose as much as 43 per cent last year, according to Cluttons LLC data on Bloomberg, amid a surge in trade and tourism.