Dubai Has `Manageable' Debt, DIC Chief Executive Ansari Says

By Ayesha Daya and Shaji Mathew

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai, the second-biggest of the seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, has ``manageable'' debt, the chief executive officer of government- owned fund manager Dubai International Capital said.

``The stakes are certainly much higher now,'' Sameer Al- Ansari said today at a conference in Dubai. The sheikhdom has ``always been leveraged,'' he said.

Dubai may need support to finance a surge in borrowing that paid for its investments and economic diversification plans, Moody's Investors Service said Oct. 13. Government-controlled companies owe at least $47 billion, more than the sheikhdom's gross domestic product.

In Dubai, ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has borrowed as oil revenue dwindled, investing to boost earnings from tourism and finance. State-owned airline Emirates has increased its fleet to the largest in the Middle East and seeks to double tourists per year to 15 million by 2015.

Dubai International Capital will now focus on the Middle East because there are ``better opportunities in this region from a risk-return perspective,'' Ansari said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ayesha Daya in Dubai at adaya1@bloomberg.net; Shaji Mathew in Dubai at shajimathew@bloomberg.net.