Abu Dhabi, UAE – The first day of the 3rd Annual Financial Restructuring MENA Conference concluded with significant insights and strategies discussed at the ADGM Auditorium in Abu Dhabi. With the theme “From distress to financial resilience: Keys to successful business turnarounds,” the event addressed the critical challenges faced by financial restructuring professionals amid rising corporate insolvencies in the MENA region.
The conference began with opening address from the host partner Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) followed by Saudi Arabia’s bankruptcy regulator, EISAR. A series of in-depth discussions ensued, starting with a fire-side chat on MENA’s evolving insolvency regimes and bankruptcy regulations, moderated by Hadef & Partners, and joined by UAE Ministry of Justice, Deloitte & Salem Ballama Auditing of Accounts.
The morning session came to full swing with an exclusive CEO panel, joined by Jamal Al Kishi, CEO – MEA, Deutsche Bank AG and hosted by H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash.
Ankura led a pivotal panel on MENA’s NPL situation, exploring the impact of sustained interest rate hikes and sharing best practices for maintaining healthy special assets portfolios. This was followed by a robust discussion on mastering complex corporate restructurings, moderated by Reed Smith with panelists discussing strategies for negotiating multi-billion-dollar debt portfolios and managing legal complexities.
The morning sessions further featured a live restructuring clinic, providing a platform for real-time problem-solving with experts including Balaji Natarajan, Mike Grant and Bruno Navarro.
There were intensive discussions on the opportunities within MENA’s distressed debt sales market hosted by White & Case, and joined by industry veterans from A&M, SAB, DK & Al Tamimi.
The afternoon featured a series of high-level discussions addressing critical challenges in financial restructuring across different sectors and jurisdictions. One of the key sessions explored lessons learned from the restructuring of Queen Alia International Airport, offering a lender’s perspective on navigating complex infrastructure financing and debt restructuring.
Another session addressed restructuring of unfunded facilities, diving into key challenges related to unfunded liabilities, corporate guarantees, and unsecured debts. Experts shared insights on legal strategies for handling such obligations and discussed the evolving role of bankruptcy trustees. Sessions covered complex cross-border restructurings examined the intricacies of managing debt restructuring across multiple jurisdictions and highlighted the role of debt traders and secondary market participants in large-scale restructuring cases.
The day concluded with closing remarks by Bruno Navarro, reflecting on the wealth of knowledge shared and the collaborative spirit of the conference. The insights gained on the first day set a constructive tone for the ongoing discussions aimed at transforming financial distress into resilience and growth.
The 3rd Annual Financial Restructuring MENA Conference continues tomorrow with more insightful discussions and networking opportunities.
