COMPANIES
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Principal content
Dubai shock after debt standstill call
Request by indebted government holding company raises spectre of default in Middle East trading hub
Pressure mounts over $4bn sukuk
Government faces pressure to clarify whether rescheduling signals a change in policy and whether sukuk restructuruing will be voluntary
Markets reel over Nakheel default fears
Alarm at news that Dubai World’s property arm was restructuring a bond due in December amid fears about implications of default
In the gift of private hands
Middle East companies are increasingly breaking with tradition by becoming involved in charitable endeavours and launching their own social responsibility programmes
Individuals lay foundations for charity
Entrepreneurs in the Middle East are setting up institutions to channel some of their wealth into improving their societies. The work of four of them is profiled here
Comment: Philanthropy needs more support
Charitable giving is unusually high and continuing to grow in the Arab world, but the sector lacks professional structures, scrutiny, expertise and incentives
Dubai World asks for debt ‘standstill’
Dubai World, a conglomerate owned by the emirate’s government, is asking its creditors for a six-month ‘standstill’ on its obligations
Lex: Dubai
The emirate’s hopes of becoming a world financial centre are proving to be nothing more than an Ozymandian dream
Bankers push for action on Saudi groups
Want UK to raise concerns about two Saudi companies that have defaulted on billions of dollars of debt



