Dubai Holding unit repays $250mn Swiss franc bond

DUBAI: Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), a unit of the conglomerate owned by Dubai's ruler, on Thursday said it had repaid a 250 million Swiss franc ($304.9 million) bond, maturing on July 14.

"Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group is committed to meeting its financial obligations as they fall due," the company said in a statement to the bourse.

The company, the main unit of Dubai Holding, had said it would repay the Swiss franc bond when it announced its annual results in April, a move positively received by investors.

DHCOG, which reported a return to profit in 2010 after a massive loss the previous year, and its parent Dubai Holding are part of a matrix of firms known informally as Dubai Inc., which includes conglomerate Dubai World.

Dubai Inc. firms were badly battered by the financial crisis and a subsequent property collapse that plunged Dubai into a debt crisis in 2009.

Measures such as timely repayment of debt maturities as they fall due are likely to further improve sentiment towards Dubai but worries remain about the ongoing restructuring of another Dubai Holding unit, Dubai Group.

DHCOG assets include the Jumeirah hotel group and business parks and hospitality units.

Copyright Reuters, 2011