UAE Hospital Group NMC Begins Process to Exit Administration

FILE PHOTO: General view of NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 11, 2020.
REUTERS/SATISH KUMAR
FILE PHOTO: General view of NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 11, 2020. REUTERS/SATISH KUMAR
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UAE Hospital Group NMC Begins Process to Exit Administration

FILE PHOTO: General view of NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 11, 2020.
REUTERS/SATISH KUMAR
FILE PHOTO: General view of NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 11, 2020. REUTERS/SATISH KUMAR

UAE hospital operator NMC said on Wednesday its companies will begin the process of exiting the administration process in Abu Dhabi, creating a new entity controlled by its creditors with a future value of $2.25 billion.

NMC, the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE, ran into trouble last year after the disclosure of more than $4 billion in hidden debt left many UAE and overseas lenders with heavy losses, Reuters reported.

Its UAE operating businesses were placed into administration in the courts of Abu Dhabi's international financial centre ADGM. Claims from creditors rose to $7.1 billion with the majority of $6.7 billion relating to financial creditor claims, the company said in a presentation on Wednesday.

A new NMC Group will be established, while all material entities and assets will be transferred to a new operating entity, it said in a separate presentation.

The operating entity will be owned by a holding company with a future expected value of $2.25 billion, it said.

Creditors will each receive a portion of the $2.25 billion debt claim equal to the expected future value of New NMC Group and will get interest payments for these facilities, it said.

"We have brought the company back from the brink of near total collapse to secure NMC's future and to ensure that our ability to provide world-class patient care is preserved – through thick and thin," Chief Executive Michael Davis said in a statement.

"The first half of 2021 is like daylight compared to the dark nights of the first half of 2020."

NMC said after overwhelming support from creditors, the joint administrators Alvarez & Marsal have proposed deeds of company arrangement (DOCAs), which will allow 34 companies of the NMC group to exit administration.

There will be a creditors' meeting to vote on the proposed DOCAs on Sept 1. Once confirmed by the ADGM courts, it is anticipated it will take three to five months to complete the transfer of shares and assets, it said.



European Shares Sink as Trump's Aggressive Tariffs Escalate Trade War

Representation photo: The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Staff/Remote
Representation photo: The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Staff/Remote
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European Shares Sink as Trump's Aggressive Tariffs Escalate Trade War

Representation photo: The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Staff/Remote
Representation photo: The German share price index, DAX board, is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Staff/Remote

European shares slumped to a two-month low on Thursday, with trade-sensitive Germany hit the hardest, as a fresh round of aggressive US tariffs escalated a global trade war and stoked fears of an economic slowdown.

The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 1.7% at 0712 GMT with German equities shedding 2.4%, the most among regional markets. Wall Street futures sank 3.1% as investors shed riskier assets in favor of safe-haven bonds and gold, reported Reuters.

US President Donald Trump's move to slap a 10% tariff on most goods imported to the United States effectively raised the rate of levies on the European Union to 20% and China to 54%, with both trading partners vowing countermeasures.

Euro zone banks, sensitive to the economic outlook, dropped 3.1% as traders ramped up bets of interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank, even as the trade war threatened to stoke inflation.

The bank-heavy indexes in Italy and Spain fell 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively.

Defensive sectors such as utilities, food and beverages sector, real estate and healthcare eked out gains.