Dubai Islamic Bank Boosts Emirate's Sukuk Listings To Over $53bn

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has celebrating the listing of a $1 billion sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai.

The listing is the first benchmark dollar-denominated sukuk from a GCC issuer in 2018 and provides significant support for the domestic and international growth strategy of DIB, a statement said.

It is DIB’s sixth sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, making the bank the largest UAE debt issuer by value on the exchange with a total of $5.25 billion, it added.

The total value of all sukuk listed on Dubai’s exchanges has now reached $53.47 billion, the largest amount of any listing centre in the world.

The latest sukuk, carrying a profit rate of 3.625 percent with a five-year tenor, attracted investors from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and North America, including banks, sovereign wealth funds and fund managers.

Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO, DIB said: “2018 has once again seen DIB open the capital markets for the region with another successful sukuk issuance. The strong demand for the credit continues to grow across a diverse global investor base as we pursue our expansionary agenda, focused on protecting the franchise we have created and making use of our ever-strengthening balance sheet to pursue new opportunities.

"The master plan developed a decade ago has so far yielded solid results in line with our targeted objectives and our aim today is ensure that this consistency of delivery continues in the years to come.”

Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai, said: “We are strengthening our collaboration with leading Islamic capital markets institutions across a range of financial activities and are in discussion with a growing number of potential issuers regionally and internationally.

"Dubai’s thriving community of Islamic finance specialists at DIB and other institutions will continue to drive the expanding success of the Sharia’a-compliant financial sector.”