Dubai to securitise airport Duty Free revenues

Dubai plans to raise funds by selling debt based on future revenues at Dubai Duty Free, one of the world’s largest airport retailers, according to three sources. The Gulf Arab emirate’s Department of Finance is working in tandem with the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), which owns the retail operator, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter has not been made public yet. Dubai is planning to raise at least $500 million from the securitisation of receipts, one banking source said, adding requests for proposals (RFP) for the transaction was sent to banks and a final mandate was yet to be announced. It was not known if the emirate has appointed any banks to advise on the deal. “There is an exercise going on within Department of Finance with ICD to look to see whether there could be a securitisation of Dubai Duty Free funding,” another source, familiar with the matter, said Dubai government officials were not immediately available for comment. Sales at Dubai Duty Free, which covers a sprawling 18,000 square metres of retail space at Dubai International Airport, rose 15.7 percent to $1.46 billion in 2011. The operator has seen business boom on the back of sales of branded perfumes, watches and designer clothes.