Britain's finance minister Alistair Darling has closed a loophole in Sharia finance rules that allow commercial property investors to avoid paying stamp duty on more than EUR 1.3 bn of property deals in Britain, the Times reported on Thursday. The changes are part of the minister's 2008 budget plans published on Wednesday.
Portuguese real estate investor and developer Bondstone is investing around €70 mln in a residential development in Belas Clube de Campo, municipality of Sintra, Portugal.
