Dubai's stock market fell by 6% on Monday on new worries about the size of the emirate's debt burden.

迪拜股市星期一下滑了六个百分点，起因于公众对酋长国债务负担的担忧。

Dubai World may need to sell assets including Cirque du Soleil

It came as Dubai's finance minister said the government would not sell any assets资产 to help the emirate酋长国's investment vehicle投资工具, Dubai World, meet its debts.

Minister Abdulrahman al-Saleh said any assets sold would have to be the property-to-ports company's own.

Dubai shares have had a torrid酷热的 time since Dubai World said 10 days ago it wanted to stall payments to creditors债主.

They finished Monday trading at their lowest level since 22 July.

Real estate and banking² shares were particularly hard hit, with investors³ still concerned about the financial sector's exposure to Dubai World's debt.

Dubai World has some valuable assets, notably显著地 its ports business, which stretches to every continent in the world, including London's Tilbury Docks and France's Le Havre.

Other items in its wide-ranging investment portfolio投资证券组合 include the luxury retailer零售商 Barney's of New York, a list of high-end US hotels, and the Canadian acrobatic circus franchise特权，公民权, Cirque du Soleil.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera, Mr Al-Saleh said: "Like any company that has commitments, part of getting liquidity流动性，偿债能力 is selling some assets. Of course local or foreign assets."

Investors' demands

One of Dubai World's first major repayments⁹ to bondholders in its property firm Nakheel is due next week.

The BBC's Middle East Business reporter Malcolm Borthwick said although the company had asked for a six-month delay, sources had told him that bondholders wanted to be paid off in full and on time.

A group representing 25% of bondholders were writing to Dubai World to that effect, he added.