National Bonds in Dh100m sales

National Bonds Corporation, a Shariah-compliant savings and investment programme, today announced bond sales of Dh100 million in the first two weeks following the launch of the new rewards structure.

Rolled out on May 1, 2013, the new rewards structure has led to an upsurge in the number of bondholders.

In the two weeks following the announcement, and with the introduction of prizes specific to female and minor bondholders, the data indicated a 160 per cent rise of female bondholders, while minor bondholders witnessed an equally noteworthy increase of 117 per cent within the same period.

Commenting on this growth, Mohammad Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds Corporation, said: "The figures reflect the achievement of the new structure in attracting a greater number of savers from our community. It also confirms the success of our newly applied approach to encourage the general public to regularly save in their means of realizing a promising future. We are confident about witnessing further growth in the number of regular savers and investors from within and outside the UAE in the near future."

Al Ali added: "In addition to doubling the rewards, the restructuring was designed with the clear objective of stimulating parents to endorse and instill the habit of regular saving to ensure that their children are securely covered for their education cost until college graduation. Also, through the newly introduced structure, we sought to increase awareness on the importance of our Mudaraba Sukuk fund among both individuals and institutions. This will undoubtedly contribute to achieving the leadership’s vision of consolidating Dubai's position as the global hub of Islamic finance."

In mid-April, National Bonds Corporation announced the restructuring of its rewards program to give away attractive prizes to bondholders on a daily and weekly basis. The new structure continues the draw for the immensely popular one million dirham grand prize in the first week of each month.

It also offers two women bondholders the chance of winning a gold bar in the second week each worth Dh50,000. The third week of every month gives away two luxurious BMW cars. In addition, the new structure provides tuitions worth Dh25,000 each to two lucky minor bondholders.

Unique to the region, the new rewards structure additionally offers one cash award every minute of every day. Of the corresponding 1,440 daily cash awards valued at Dh50 each, 600 prizes are reserved for bondholders in specific sub-categories: 200 for female bondholders, 200 for minor bondholders and 200 for those bondholders who have a direct debit arrangement with their respective banks or through payroll deduction by their employers via the Employee Savings Scheme.

National Bonds, which is licensed and regulated by the UAE Central Bank, provides UAE nationals, as well as residents and non-residents with a credible and safe savings opportunity. Minors can also own National Bonds provided the bonds are purchased by the parent/guardian. Each bond costs Dh10, with a minimum purchase of Dh100.

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