CAIRO: Cairo-based Arab African International Bank (AAIB) said on Tuesday that 2 percent of its lending portfolio, or $98.8 million, was with Dubai World Group.
Dubai on Nov. 25 asked creditors of Dubai World to agree to a standstill on billions of dollars of debt as a first step to restructuring, a move that spooked global markets.
AAIB said in a statement its exposure of $98.8 million included $35 million in syndicated loans to Dubai World Group, in addition to $54 million in syndicated loans and a $9.8 million bond to Dubai World property subsidiary Nakheel.
The bank added: As of 30 November 2009, Arab African International Bank s net exposure to all Dubai entities does not mark more than 4 percent of AAIB s total lending portfolio.
AAIB, owned mainly by the Central Bank of Egypt and the Kuwait Investment Authority, has two branches in the United Arab Emirates.
A newspaper report on Tuesday had quoted the Egyptian central bank as saying the exposure of banks operating in Egypt to the Dubai World holding company was no more than $20 million. Central bank officials were not available for comment. -Reuters
