Emirates Islamic’s $750m sukuk oversubscribed 2.95 times

Emirates Islamic bank today announced that it raised $750 million (Dh2.75 billion) 5-year sukuk from its $2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme.

Set to be listed on Nasdaq Dubai and the Irish Stock Exchange, the Islamic bond received overwhelming investor interest from across the globe and marked the Bank’s return to the international debt capital markets after a period of four years.

In September 2015, Fitch ratings agency assigned Emirates Islamic ‘A+’ rating with a stable outlook.

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, CEO of Emirates Islamic, said: “As one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE last year, we are confident of maintaining our growth momentum over the coming years. We have decided to tap the market now to take advantage of the current market rates to drive our strategy and help us achieve our goal to become the clear leader in the Islamic banking sector.”

For the twelve months ending December 31, 2015, the bank reported a 76 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to Dh641 million.

“The strong demand for this sukuk is a clear sign of the resilience of the UAE economy, positive outlook of the nation’s banking sector and the bank’s strong credit fundamentals and growth outlook. Dubai has clearly emerged as the global hub for sukuk, and we expect that this listing will give further impetus to Dubai’s aim to become the global capital of Islamic economy,” he added.

The sukuk was priced at five-year Mid-swap+220bps and oversubscribed by 2.95 times.

It attracted investment from across GCC, Asia and Europe. Emirates Islamic and Standard Chartered Bank were the Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for the transaction while Al Hilal Bank, Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Maybank and Noor Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners.

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