UPDATE 1-Egyptian bank says may buy stake in UAE's Damac

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CAIRO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Egypt's state-controlled Housing and Development Bank (HDBK.CA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday it was considering buying a stake in UAE real estate developer Damac.

The Egyptian lender did not say how large a stake it could buy or give further details in a statement to the stock exchange.

Officials at the bank could not immediately be reached for comment.

Damac, Dubai's largest private developer, has planned projects in Egypt worth more than $20 billion and has said 20 percent of its revenue could come from Egypt by 2009.

It is developing a $16.3 billion residential and tourism project on Egypt's Red Sea coast and a 2 billion Egyptian pound ($360 million) commercial and retail venture in 6th October City west of Cairo.

The company said in December 2007 it would spend 30 billion Egyptian pounds over 10 years on another residential and commercial project near Cairo to tap demand for housing in the most populous Arab country.

Damac said in November it would not be expanding into new markets and is looking to reschedule the construction of some projects due to the global financial crisis.

Dubai's real estate sector has been hit hard as property prices fall, construction projects are scaled back and jobs are cut. ($1=5.55 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Will Rasmussen; editing by Mike Nesbit)