Gulf Holding sought to quash concerns of a possible liquidity crunch for the Villamar sukuk, saying it could both pay its next coupon and complete construction projects.

The remarks came after the company's Residential South Real Estate unit, which issued the sukuk, said cash reserves fell to BD5.45 million ($14.5 million) at the end of last year from BD42.3 million a year earlier.

The news raised concerns that cash was tight at the group, but a company spokesman said the next quarterly coupon would be paid as scheduled on May 10.

The company also said its April 25 request to delist the $190 million sukuk was prompted by a lack of trading activity in the market.

'The agreement was reached mutually by the company and the certificate holders,' the spokesman said.

He added that work on Villamar was proceeding well on all construction levels and the company expected to complete the project on schedule.

The Villamar project is part of Bahrain Financial Harbour development, promoted by Gulf Finance House.