The Investment Dar - Extension of Time for Creditor Approval

AlQabas quotes an unnamed financial source that he expects that the Creditors' Co-Ordinating Committee will announce an extension of the deadline for creditors to agree to the restructuring proposal.  At least two weeks perhaps more.

The extension is being justified as needed to complete certain legal requirements and comply with requests from creditors.

Here's my take on the story behind the story:

1. The comment about the completion of certain legal requirements and creditor requests may indicate that some creditors may have imposed conditions on their agreement requiring some changes to the deal, though I think this is just the story to provide cover for an extension without admitting failure in securing creditor agreement.
2. Clearly not all creditors have agreed.  As outlined before, 100% of creditors are required to close the deal.  In an earlier post  on 6 December press accounts, I noted that at that point it seemed that only 66% of creditors (by amount) had agreed. Investment Dar Bank Bahrain at 27%  had not but was expected to agree "soon".  One would think that its agreement would have been trumpeted as a way of building momentum to sweep up the other creditors.  Since this hasn't been announced, it's a safe bet that it hasn't happened.  Though looking at Dubai's PR campaign you might well object that there is a completely plausible alternative explanation.  After all, TID is still running a rather boastful account of its 2007 earnings on its website, which seems (at least to AA) as a bit out of place given its current situation.
   
3. What's telling is the reference in the article to persuading creditors to join who are determined on pursuing their rights through court cases.  An ongoing court case or two could derail implementation of the restructuring as creditors rush to protect themselves.
4. It's now been approximately two weeks since TID submitted its 2008 financials to the Central Bank for approval.  It will be very interesting to see how long before they are released.
   

If the AlQabas story is accurate, this is not good news for TID.

You can access previous posts on The Investment Dar by using the label section on the right side of the Suq Al Mal homepage.