Emirates Islamic Bank, the Islamic banking arm of the Emirates NBD Group, announced the successful pricing of its first dirham-denominated Sukuk, amounting to one billion dirhams, the first of its kind by an Emirati bank.
The group's success in issuing sukuk will support its ability to expand the financing options available to UAE companies that require Sharia-compliant financing, as well as improving the process of developing the medium-term yield curve for sukuk denominated in UAE dirhams, according to a statement by the bank, which Namazon received its copy today, Wednesday.
On this occasion, Salah Amin, CEO of Emirates Islamic, said: “The success of Emirates Islamic’s issuance of the first dirham-denominated sukuk confirms the role of the local currency-denominated bond market as an important source of financing for companies at attractive prices. The strong demand for the issuance also represents great confidence on the part of global Sharia-compliant investors and shows the growing demand for fixed income products and services denominated in dirhams. The bank is proud to play an important role in strengthening the position of the United Arab Emirates as a leading financial center in the region and supporting government initiatives dedicated to achieving this.
Mohammed Kamran Wajid, Executive Vice President of Emirates Islamic, said: “The great success of Emirates NBD’s issuance of AED-denominated bonds, which were significantly oversubscribed, provided an encouraging incentive for the group’s subsidiary, Emirates Islamic, to take advantage of the attractive pricing opportunity for its AED-denominated sukuk. The strong demand for these sukuk reflects the good appetite of Sharia-compliant investors for this type of sukuk issuance. At the same time, the Sukuk's strict adherence to the latest Sharia-compliant standards has allowed us to tap into a large base of global liquidity sources and attract a wide range of investors. This groundbreaking issuance is in line with the UAE government's goal of promoting the development of the local debt market and supporting the achievement of the objectives of the 'Dubai Capital of Islamic Economy' initiative.
Emirates NBD Capital acted as the global coordinator for the Sukuk issuance, while Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners.
