Troubled conglomerate Dubai World has begun talks with small creditors, not included in the coordination committee of banks on its restructuring plan, to avoid any lawsuits, a UAE newspaper said on Sunday.

The company, which has $14.4 billion (9.3 billion pounds) in outstanding bank debt that it said it will be able to repay, has started negotiations with the smaller group after lending banks approved its restructuring plan, Arabic daily Al Ittihad said, citing banking sources familiar with the matter.

Dubai World is prepared to sell prized assets, including ports firm DP World , in a bid to raise as much as $19.4 billion to repay creditors, a document obtained by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Tamara Walid; Editing by Jason Benham and Ron Popeski)

United arab emirates Dubai