Qatar’s Barwa Signs Deal To Sell Land Plots For $1.47bn

Qatar’s Barwa Real Estate has signed a deal to sell two plots of land for a combined QAR5.34 billion ($1.47 billion) to an unidentified buyer, the company said on Tuesday.

Barwa will deliver the first plot of land, which it is selling for QAR2.63 billion, by the end of 2014, it said in a statement on Qatar’s stock exchange. The second plot, worth QAR2.7 billion, will be delivered to the buyer in the first quarter of 2015.

“This transaction aims at increasing the available liquidity with Barwa to cover its financial obligations, and allows Barwa to consider venturing in new projects and investments,” the company said in the statement.

It said the buyer was a Qatari firm that was not a subsidiary of any listed company, but did not provide further details.

Qatar’s government owns a 45 per cent stake in Barwa, according to Reuters data. In October, the developer said it would sell land worth QAR2.54 billion ($697.4 million) to the government.

Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, stepped in with financial aid last year, agreeing to buy some of Barwa’s assets for $7.1 billion. In June this year, Barwa said it was selling a 95 per cent stake in Barwa Commercial Avenue Co to Qatari Diar for QAR9 billion.