Qatar's Barwa to sell more assets in 2010, 2011

Qatar's Barwa Real Estate said on Tuesday it will continue to sell assets in 2010 and 2011 to meet its obligations after it repaid 4.3bn riyals ($1.18bn) in Islamic financial facilities.

The developer, an affiliate of the country's sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement it repaid the sum through the sale of some assets and on settlement of claims for projects undertaken for the government and other third parties.

The fifth largest developer in the Gulf Arab region by market value, did not give details of the asset sales.

"We will continue to pay down the financial facilities as per our long-term business strategy," the firm's chairman and managing director Ghanim bin Saad al Saad, said in the statement on Qatar's bourse website.

"We expect to achieve our goals by selling assets and restructuring existing financial facilities during 2010-2011." All of the earnings from this transaction were used to pay back Tamweelat financing agreements, it said.

Executives at the company were not immediately available for comment.

Barwa, which is in the process of taking over Qatar Real Estate (Alaqaria), said in March negotiations were still underway on the sale of Barwa Financial District to Qatar Petroleum, and denied it was in talks to sell its Barwa City project to a government buyer.

In February it said it was seeking a bridge loan, without providing details.

The company's Chief Financial Officer told Reuters in April last year it was mulling asset sales to boost profit in the first half of the year.

Barwa, which has properties in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, focuses on retail, office, hospitality and residential property development.

The firm's shares were up 0.3 per cent at 33.8 riyals a share at 0712 GMT, outperforming Doha's bourse which was down 0.2 per cent.

Barwa is 45 per cent owned by Qatari Diar, the property arm of the country's sovereign wealth fund.