Dubai - ING has supported EMSTEEL (ADX: EMSTEEL), one of the largest publicly traded steel and building materials manufacturers in the region, in achieving a “(p)AA” Provisional ESG Rating. The “(p)AA” outcome is the best within EMSTEEL’s MSCI peer group and one of the highest among steel players globally.

MSCI ESG Provisional Ratings offer an independent assessment of a company’s ability to manage financially material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities. Each rating considers the company’s exposure to ESG risks, the strength of its risk management and governance frameworks, and, where relevant, its alignment with market demand for products and services that contribute positively to environmental or social outcomes. These Provisional Ratings are widely used by leading institutional investors to integrate ESG factors into their investment decision-making processes.

This Provisional Rating recognises the Group's strong performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, making them stand out globally in their industry. The Provisional Rating provides EMSTEEL with a tool with which to communicated their strong ESG credentials, interact with investors on the sustainability topic and use for their own internal benchmarking purposes.

Mark Tonkens, EMSTEEL Group CFO, said:

"We are proud to have received an ‘(p)AA’ ESG rating from MSCI, which reflects the strength of our sustainability efforts and reinforces our positioning with long-term investors.

“We thank ING for their valuable support as ESG adviser. Their financial and sustainability expertise helped us clearly demonstrate our ESG initiatives to MSCI and align our disclosures with investor expectations.”

The (p)AA Provisional ESG Rating follows the Group’s announcement in May 2025 of a new Green Finance Framework, which is another cornerstone of EMSTEEL’s broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. The Framework was also structured by ING.

ING’s ESG Ratings advisory service is provided by the Sustainable Capital Markets team, which is responsible for providing issuers with advice on investor behaviour as it relates to ESG. The Sustainable Capital Markets team supports issuers with obtaining inaugural ESG Ratings, improving existing ESG Ratings and structuring sustainably labelled investment products.

With a strong footprint in Middle Eastern ESG advisory mandates our engagement with EMSTEEL marks ING’s continued focus on providing support to our clients in understanding how their stakeholders take ESG into consideration.

Joshua Zakkai, ING’s ESG Ratings Advisory lead for Global Capital Markets, said:

“The fantastic (p)AA outcome achieved by EMSTEEL is demonstrative of how companies based in the region can satisfy high expectations of external stakeholders in the capital markets on the ESG topic.

We are keen to support others in the same way we supported EMSTEEL in achieving the highly coveted (p)AA assessment.”

ING is the world’s leading Sustainable Capital Markets advisor, and was recently awarded the Most Impressive Investment Bank for Corporate ESG Capital Markets and Advice by GlobalCapital.                                 

About ING 

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through  its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s more than 60,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 markets.

ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

Sustainability is an integral part of ING’s strategy, evidenced by ING’s leading position in sector   benchmarks. ING's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by MSCI was affirmed 'AA' in July 2023. As of December 2023, Sustainalytics considers ING’s management of ESG material risk to be ‘strong’. ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell.

About EMSTEEL

EMSTEEL is a public joint stock company (ADX: EMSTEEL) and the UAE’s largest steel and building materials manufacturer. The Group leverages cutting-edge technologies to supply both the local market and over 70 international markets with high-quality finished products, creating a one-stop shop for the manufacturing and construction sectors.

EMSTEEL is committed to contributing to the UAE's industrial strategy ‘Operation 300 billion’ by delivering market-leading products to support local industries, creating job opportunities for UAE Nationals, and enhancing its sustainable practices. The Group is a global leader in low-carbon steel production and is aligned with the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, EMSTEEL operates 16 state-of-the-art plants, with a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of steel and 4.6 million tonnes of cement annually, fuelling the nation’s most iconic projects. EMSTEEL is majority owned by ADQ, an active sovereign investor with a focus on critical infrastructure and supply chains. For more information, please visit our website: www.emsteel.com.

For a complete view of EMSTEEL’s ESG performance in 2024 and details of the sustainability strategy, please refer to the 2024 Sustainability Report.