Emirates Islamic Launches $750 Million Sustainability Sukuk On Nasdaq Dubai

Nasdaq Dubai has welcomed the first Sustainability Sukuk issuance of US$750 million by Emirates Islamic, a leading Islamic financial institution in the UAE. This 5-year issuance is part of the US$2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme and represents a significant milestone in both the bank’s sustainability journey and the Islamic finance industry.

With this latest admission, the total value of Sukuk listings by Emirates Islamic on the exchange has reached US$2.02 billion through four listings. This development underscores Nasdaq Dubai's expanding portfolio of listed debt securities and its focus on facilitating innovative financial instruments.

The issuance saw robust demand from investors across various regions, with 44 percent of orders coming from outside the MENA region. The strong order book, which exceeded US$2.10 billion, resulted in an oversubscription of 2.8 times. This allowed the bank to tighten the expected profit rate to 5.431 percent per annum, at a spread of 100 basis points over 5-Year US Treasuries.

This Sustainability Sukuk was issued in line with Emirates NBD Group’s Sustainable Finance Framework and complies with Shariah rules and principles as determined by Emirates Islamic’s Internal Shariah Supervision Committee.

To commemorate the successful listing, Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD, rang the bell at the market-opening ceremony at Nasdaq Dubai. He was joined by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and DFM.

Hesham Al Qassim remarked, "The listing of our first Sustainability Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai represents our dedication to being a pioneering Shariah-compliant bank for customers, people, and communities, as well as our ongoing commitment to fostering sustainability."

Nasdaq Dubai's Role

Hamed Ali added, "Nasdaq Dubai welcomes Emirates Islamic’s debut Sustainability Sukuk, marking another milestone in our strong partnership. Such innovative listings not only enhance our role as a leading global hub for Islamic finance but also reinforce our commitment to driving sustainable investments and fostering a robust and diverse financial ecosystem."

Dubai's Position in Sukuk Listings

As a leading global centre for Sukuk listings, Dubai boasts an outstanding value of US$93 billion in Sukuk issuances. Following Emirates Islamic’s latest addition, 44 percent of these listings by value are from UAE issuers, while 56 percent are from overseas issuers.

The exchange continues to solidify its status as a premier platform regionally and globally for both fixed income and ESG-related listings. It holds an outstanding total value of US$129 billion in listed fixed income and US$29 billion in ESG listings. Of these, sustainability issuances account for US$9.5 billion, including the recent listing by Emirates Islamic.

With inputs from WAM