Coming to terms with Dubai’s debt – even if it’s bigger than you think

Attempts to reassure world markets that the emirate’s debt is no more than $80bn have been overshadowed by the revelation that Dubai World alone owes $59.3bn. Last November, Emaar Properties chairman Mohammed Ali Alabbar – for long a key ally of UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) – attempted to reassure financial markets that Dubai’s debt was no more than $80bn. It now appears the figure is higher.