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Nakheel exec leaves as operations cut continues

Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:38pm IST

* Departure comes as Nakheel continues to reduce operations

* Istithmar World chief resigned in January

(Adds background)

DUBAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Chief commercial officer Manal Shaheen has left Dubai developer Nakheel [NAKHD.UL], which lies at the centre of a $22 billion debt restructuring by parent company Dubai World [DBWLD.UL].

A company spokeswoman declined to give reasons for his leaving.

Shaheen, who joined Nakheel in 2005 as assistant sales manager, had largely played a sales and marketing role at the firm, but has stepped back since projects were cancelled or postponed.

It has also reduced its public relations team as part of hundreds of job cuts as a result of the financial downturn and restructuring plan for Dubai World's units.

Earlier in February Dubai World's malls unit, Retailcorp, said it reduced its workforce by 3 percent. [nLDE6131SA]

Shaheen's departure follows the resignation in January of David Jackson, the former chief executive of Istithmar World, Dubai World's investment arm. [nLDE60J1LS]

One of Nakheel's most prominent projects affected by the downturn is the Nakheel Harbour & Tower project, a kilometre

(3,281 feet) tall tower, for which Shaheen spearheaded the promotion just weeks before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Nakheel has since said it would stop work on the project.

Hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of projects in the Gulf emirate have been put on hold or cancelled as a result of the slowdown, with property prices down about 60 percent since their peaks in 2008.

Dubai World is unlikely to pay off Nakheel's $980 million Islamic bond due May 13, but all options are open, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. [nLDE61L0WJ]

Dubai World staved off default on a $4.1 billion Islamic bond linked to Nakheel, after a last-minute bailout from Abu Dhabi.

(Reporting by Jason Benham, editing by Will Waterman)

((jason.benham@thomsonreuters.com; dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301)) Keywords: NAKHEEL JOB/

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