Egypt's Talaat Moustafa says buys land in Saudi

CAIRO, May 11 (Reuters) - Egyptian developer Talaat Moustafa Group (TMGH.CA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday it had agreed to buy 3.8 million square metres of land in Saudi Arabia, its second plot in the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom.

Talaat Moustafa said it would build a residential housing complex on the site, without giving further details or saying how much it paid for the land.

Talaat Moustafa agreed to form a joint venture with U.S.-based Hill International Inc (HIL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) last week for construction projects in the Middle East.

It said the deal raised its land bank in Saudi Arabia to 7.8 million square metres. The group's land bank in Egypt stands at 42 million square metres, the statement said. Talaat Moustafa, which sold shares in an initial public offering last year, is building a Four Seasons hotel in the southern Egyptian town of Luxor and expanding another in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Its first housing development project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will include 5,000 residences for an anticipated 22,500 people.

Developers are pouring billions of dollars into construction projects in the largest Arab economy, where a shortfall of supply is driving up rents.

(Writing by Will Rasmussen; editing by Rory Channing)