Dubai World, the government-owned ports and property conglomerate, will shift top staff along with property assets valued at billions of dirhams from Nakheel, its property arm, to Istithmar World, an investment subsidiary.

It was a rare public sign of the root-and-branch restructuring under way at the company, which has been hard hit by the financial crisis, with consolidated debt and liabilities of almost US$60bn. Dubai’s overall debt is estimated at about $85bn.

The National