Abu Dhabi will not guarantee $3b worth of tourism

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Co said its planned sale through a $3 billion (Dh11 billion) notes programme won't be guaranteed by the Abu Dhabi government. The subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has "no assurance that the government would assist the group in repaying or refinancing any of its commercial debt," according to the bond prospectus distributed at an investors meeting in Dubai yesterday and obtained by Bloomberg News at presentation to potential investors yesterday. The TDIC's commercial debt amounted to Dh10.5 billion ($2.9 billion) at the end of December. The TDIC's bonds would have a maturity of seven to 10 years and proceeds would be used for financing development projects, director of finance Wallace Long said in April. A TDIC spokeswoman declined to comment. Article continues below The TDIC, which is developing branches of the Guggenheim and Louvre museums in the UAE's capital, had a loss of Dh1.2 billion last year compared with a loss of Dh551 million for 2009, financial statements in the prospectus showed. The company's loss in 2008 stood at Dh368.6 million. The TDIC raised $1 billion by selling five-year bonds in October 2009. Downgraded Aldar Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi's largest property developer, had its debt downgraded in June by Moody's Investors Service, which said the prospect of future government support is less certain. While the Abu Dhabi government said in March last year it backed the TDIC "fully and unconditionally," it doesn't guarantee TDIC's debt, including bonds. "The government is not guaranteeing any of the issuer's or TDIC's obligations in respect of the notes" and holders of the notes don't benefit from any legally enforceable claim against the government, according to the bond prospectus. The company said last month that it had hired BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, Standard Chartered Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc to arrange investor meetings in Asia, Europe and the UAE. The developer has relied on government grants since being set up in October 2005 and "anticipates that it will continue to rely substantially" on such support as it expects to operate "at a loss in the near term," the prospectus said. Government support for the TDIC since inception until December 31 consisted of Dh18.7 billion in capital contributions, Dh4.4 billion in monetary grants and Dh3.6 billion in government loans. TDIC scales back projects The Tourism Development and Investment Co, the Abu Dhabi government-owned real estate and resort developer, reduced by 28 per cent its budgeted spending for the year by putting on hold, or scaling back, projects, according to a company bond prospectus. A strategy approved in December 2010 by the TDIC's board on "selectively hibernating, delaying or scaling-back certain projects" has reduced the company's total budgeted capital expenditure for 2011 to Dh13.4 billion ($3.65 billion), from Dh18.6 billion, the document dated June 29 says. "In light of the size and variety of the projects in its pipeline, it is impractical for [the] TDIC to develop each of its projects simultaneously," the document says. None of the projects being "hibernated" are under construction, it says, with the TDIC monitoring Abu Dhabi's real estate market to assess when to resume work on the projects. The TDIC in late June hired BNP Paribas, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Standard Chartered Bank to arrange a series of fixed income meetings, which began in the UAE yesterday. The company, which has 69 projects under various stages of design and development, has a $3 billion (Dh11 billion) Global Medium Term Note Programme. Museums Its projects include Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, which will host branches of the Guggenhim and Louvre museums. TDIC is one of a handful of government-owned companies investing to help diversify Abu Dhabi's economy away from oil income. The prospectus says Abu Dhabi's long-term strategy remains in place, but that the government "is focusing on ensuring that financial discipline is maintained" and seeing which projects can be deferred. The TDIC made a net loss of Dh1.15 billion in 2010, roughly double its loss of Dh551 million in 2009, according to an income statement in the prospectus. Revenues last year, however, rose to DH347.2 million from Dh235.1 million in the previous year as hospitality revenues from one of its resorts increased. The TDIC hasn't yet recognised any revenue from selling residential projects, even those which have been pre-sold, as it only recognizes revenue when an individual property is completed and handed over.