Dubai's Arabtec sees Nakheel 40% cash payment soon

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Dubai builder Arabtec expects payment in cash from troubled developer Nakheel to be made soon while payment in the form of a bond will take a few months, it chief financial officer said on Saturday.

The largest builder in the United Arab Emirates by market value has bid for enough work to achieve 7.4 billion dirhams (USD 2.02 billion) worth of orders in 2010, Ziad Makhzoumi told Dubai One TV in an interview on Saturday.

"We're still hopeful that we will get that soon, as they have announced that it will be some time in June," he said, referring to the outstanding cash owed by Nakheel, a unit of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World which agreed with its core creditor banks on a proposal to restructure USD 23.5 billion in debt.

"Soon after that, be it a month, two or three -- within a reasonable period of time I believe we will all be issued with the bonds," he added.

As part of the proposals, Nakheel's trade creditors have been offered full repayment, with 40% in cash and 60% in the form of an Islamic bond, or sukuk, which has a 10% annual return.

Makhzoumi said Arabtec had already been approached by banks and institutions interested in buying the bond.

Arabtec received a first token payment from Nakheel of 500,000 dirhams (USD 136,200), local daily Emirates Business reported last week.

In April, the firm's chief executive said Nakheel's cash would be circulated to pay Arabtec's suppliers and subcontractors in the UAE, adding it would not need additional cash for its projects outside the Gulf state.