• The three-year sukuk carries a 5.05% profit rate, at a spread of 67 bps over UAE Government Treasuries
  • The dirham-denominated sukuk underscores robust demand for local currency issues

Dubai:  Emirates Islamic, the Islamic subsidiary of Emirates NBD Group, has announced the successful pricing of its inaugural AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk, the first such dirham sukuk issuance by a UAE bank. The Group’s sukuk sale will expand financing options for UAE corporations with Sharia’a-compliant needs while enhancing the development of the medium-term dirham yield curve.

The three-year issue witnessed robust demand and was oversubscribed 2.5 times. The strong order book, which exceeded AED 2.5 billion dirhams, allowed the bank to tighten the profit rate to 5.05 %, at a spread of 67 basis points over UAE government treasuries.

The sukuk sale demonstrates Emirates Islamic’s commitment to deepening the liquidity of the local currency sukuk market following the creation of the Ministry of Finance’s medium-term dirham yield curve. The launch of the sukuk follows Emirate NBD’s AED 1 billion bond sale in January.

Salah Amin, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic said: “Emirates Islamic’s benchmark dirham sukuk further underscores the dirham bond market’s role as a significant and competitively priced source of funding for corporates. The robust demand is also a strong vote of confidence from global Sharia’a-compliant investors and demonstrates the strong appetite for dirham denominated fixed income products and services. Emirates Islamic is proud to play an important role in reinforcing the UAE’s position as the financial center of the region and supporting government initiatives.”  

Mohammad Kamran Wajid, Deputy CEO of Emirates Islamic added: “Encouraged by the successful and heavily oversubscribed dirham bond issuance by Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic has taken the opportunity to tap the market for an attractively priced dirham sukuk. The strong demand for the sukuk reflects the healthy appetite among Sharia’-compliant investors for a dirham-denominated issue. At the same time, the sukuk’s strict adherence to the latest Sharia’a-compliant standards has allowed us to tap a deep pool of global liquidity and attract a wide range of investors. This milestone sukuk is fully aligned to the UAE Government’s objective of developing the local debt market and the ‘Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy Initiative’.” 

Emirates NBD Capital was sole global coordinator, and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank were joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the sukuk.

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About Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 17 million customers. As at 31st December 2022, total assets were AED 742 billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 202 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 879 branches and 4,130 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 3.6 billion. 

Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv., the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region.

Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is also an early supporter to Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.

For further information on Emirates NBD, please contact:
Ibrahim Sowaidan
Senior Vice President
Head - Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
e-mail: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com

Mahmoud Kassem
Associate
Brunswick Group
e-mail: mkassem@brunswickgroup.com