The profit paid out by UAE National Bonds slid to a maximum 1.5 per cent in 2012 - a lower rate than savers got the previous year.
In 2011 the popular Sharia-compliant savings scheme paid bondholders up to 2 per cent - itself a long way short of the 7.07 per cent paid in the scheme's 2008 hey day.
But National Bonds Corporation, the investment company behind the scheme, said that bondholders enjoyed a total return of 2.62 per cent last year - thanks to 1.12 per cent extra kicked in by the company's practice of offering prizes and incentives. With the returns enjoyed by bondholders modest compared to previous highs, the firm was keen to flag up an increase in the number of the scheme's bondholders - which grew 5.78 per cent last year to reach 690,000.
Nearly 10 per cent are UAE nationals, with the rest divided between more than 200 nationalities, National Bonds Corporation revealed on Saturday. The firm also revealed what it called a "healthy increase" in female bondholders - up 9 per cent during 2012.
Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds Corporation, said: "The rise in the number of bondholders is a clear indicator that both individuals & families are paying more attention to their future financial wellbeing."
He was keen to stress that stronger returns in the early years of the scheme - which was launched in 2006 - mean that bonds averaged a cumulative annual return of 5.6 per cent during the period between 2006 and 2012. In a call to UAE residents to save, Al Ali said: "The importance of planning financially for the future has been proven throughout history in the form of crises such as international disputes and economic downturns. I call upon all segments of society to act immediately to start saving before it's too late."
He said the firm would continue on its stated objective to "work relentlessly to make saving a rewarding experience".
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