Dubai government-owned property company Nakheel, which last week sold almost $1 billion of Islamic bonds, said it plans to tap the debt market again this year and is considering making acquisitions abroad.

'The debt markets are starting to have a lot of life after sub prime,' Nakheel chief executive officer Chris O'Donnell said in Dubai on Tuesday.

'It is likely we will by the end of the year,' he said, when asked when the company might tap the market again. He declined to give details.

Nakheel, developer of three palm-tree shaped islands off Dubai's coast, has sold more than $5.2 billion of bonds during the last 17 months, including in the world's largest Islamic bond sale.

'By the end of the year, I think you will see us active again in buying assets in distressed markets around the world,' O'Donnell said.

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