Abu Dhabi fund suspends debt service repayments for countries, companies

DUBAI, July 12 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has suspended debt service repayments for some countries and companies for the year, the state-financed fund said on Sunday.

The fund provides financial assistance to companies in the United Arab Emirates and to developing countries, which has included Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Debt service repayments would be suspended for eligible countries and individual companies from Jan. 1 until Dec. 31, the fund said in a statement.

It did not say which countries or companies would benefit or what the criteria would need to be met to be eligible.

"At a time when the world is reeling under the effect of the pandemic ... it is imperative for us to support particularly those that need it most, especially the low-income countries," the fund's director general Mohammed Saif al-Suwaidi said. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by David Evans)