Emaar may seek near-term debt refinancing

Dubai's Emaar Properties may refinance some of its debt in the near term, with repayments worth AED6.7bn ($1.8bn)coming up between the second half of 2011 and next year, investment bank Rasmala said on Wednesday. The builder of the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, is expected to incur a capital expenditure of AED2.6bn on its projects and operating expenses of AED2.9bn for the same period, the Dubai-based investment bank said. Emaar will generate AED7.7bn cash from its operations during the period but will have a cash requirement of about AED12.2bn, the bank said. The report said the developer's refinancing requirement will be around AED1bn. Rasmala also cut the target price for Emaar to AED3 a share from AED3.5 as it expected international handover of projects to be slow due to uncertain global macroeconomic environment. The developer is using four of its shopping malls including the Dubai Mall as collateral for an $800m two-tranche loan, banking sources said last week. Emaar saw an 85 percent fall in its income from apartment sales in the second quarter, as demand for real estate continues its slump in the emirate.