Egypt's New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) is cancelling a land contract with beleaguered property developer Palm Hills , financial daily Al Mal reported on Thursday.   

'NUCA decided ... to cancel a contract for an allocated plot of land of 190 feddans ... in Sixth of October City to Palm Hills,' Al Mal said, citing no sources.   

It did not say whether the cancellation concerned land whose ownership is being contested under legal challenges that have hit several companies in Egypt's real estate sector. No one from NUCA could immediately be reached for comment.

In March, a judicial panel concluded that a sale of land in another Cairo suburb to Palm Hills was illegal because it was priced too cheaply and said it should be scrapped.

Palm Hills shares have tumbled 59 percent this year. Chief Executive Yasseen Mansour faces criminal charges of wasting public money.

The firm has said plots of land being contested represented less than 7.5 percent of its total land bank but analysts say it faces mounting debt and liabilities that might cause it to sell some assets.

An official from the company said the option of returning land would help the company better manage its cash flows but would not say which plots it was seeking to return. - Reuters