DOHA: Ezdan Real Estate Co., Qatar’s largest developer by market value, said yesterday it planned to sell some of its real estate portfolio as it seeks to raise funds for billion-dollar projects in the next five years.
Ezdan’s deputy chief executive officer, Samer Wahbeh, said the company, which complies with Islamic law, would build schools, hotels, residential units and hospitals in Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
“We are still quite bullish about the market and have an aggressive expansion plan and we need to fuel this growth for the company,” Wahbeh told Reuters in an interview. Ezdan, which nearly doubled its net profit in the first quarter, is likely to earn 98 million riyals ($26.9 million) in the second quarter, Wahbeh added. The company reported full-year net profit of 1.4 billion riyals in 2008.
Qatar’s property sector has suffered property price drops of about 30 percent in the last six months. But the economy could grow 7 percent or more in real terms in 2009 as it boosts gas production, its central bank has said.
To help finance new real estate projects, Wahbeh is in talks to sell about 4 percent of its portfolio, worth about 600 million riyals, to a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Malaysia, Wahbeh said. “We are looking at good opportunities to sell part of our property at the right price,” he said, adding the company was looking at similar REIT vehicles in Singapore and the Dubai International Financial Center.
Qatar is spending billions of dollars on infrastructure and property projects as it seeks to reduce its reliance on oil and gas income, which contribute 60 percent of gross domestic product and 66 percent of state revenues.
Wahbeh did not rule out pursuing real estate projects outside Qatar.
Ezdan expects to conclude a takeover of International Housing Group, first unveiled in March, before the fourth quarter. “This will be done through share issuance to International Housing Group by Ezdan,” Wahbeh said.
