Dubai to Borrow at Least $10 Billion

Dubai plans to borrow at least $10 billion for new roads, power plants and an urban railway to spur economic expansion.
The Persian Gulf sheikhdom's borrowing will ``go into double-digit billions'' by 2009, Nasser Akil Abbas, treasury director at the Dubai government's finance department, said in an interview in his office today.
The government is taking advantage of bondholder demand after Dubai Holding LLC, a company managing state assets, received $13 billion of orders for a $2.5 billion sale of notes last month. The government expects to get credit ratings from Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings by April, and is being advised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS AG, according to Abbas.
``There will be both syndicated loans and bonds of 7, 10 and 15-year'' maturities, Abbas said.
The government will seek loans for its power and water authority and start selling conventional and Islamic bonds in Europe, Asia and the U.S. on behalf of state companies.
The second-largest of the United Arab Emirates states after Abu Dhabi, is seeking to spur economic growth of 11 percent a year to 2015 to help add 882,000 jobs. Dubai's oil wells are forecast to run dry within 20 years. Its population grew by 7.3 percent to 1.37 million last year, according to government data. Continue too the full story from Source.