Dubai woes loom as Gulf leaders prepare to meet

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Ongoing concerns about Dubai's financial woes could overshadow efforts to more closely align Gulf Arab nations' economies when the region's leaders meet Monday in Kuwait.

The annual gathering of top officials from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council economic bloc begins on the same day a closely watched $3.52 billion pile of Dubai debt comes due.

Investors are eagerly awaiting details on how, or indeed whether, Dubai will cover the payment, which is seen as a key test of the indebted city-state's broader creditworthiness.

Dubai's unfolding credit problems have raised new concerns about a lack of transparency throughout the oil-rich Gulf's financial system.