Sharjah Islamic Bank lists Dh1.84bn sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

Sharjah Islamic Bank listed its Dh1.84 billion ($500 million) sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai on Sunday, taking the sukuk listings on the emirate's exchanges to $28.96 billion (Dh106.28 billion).

Mohammed Abdulla, Chief Executive Officer of Sharjah Islamic Bank, rang the opening bell to celebrate the listing.

The ceremony was attended by Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Secretary General of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and Chairman of DFM; Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai; Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai; Ahmed Saad, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Sharjah Islamic Bank; and Saeed Al Amiri, Head of Investment Group of Sharjah Islamic Bank.

Mohammed Abdulla said: "Nasdaq Dubai gives our listing global visibility from within our own country and the region. We appreciate the exchange's high regulatory standards and straightforward listing processes. This Sukuk listing by SIB, as one of the UAE and the region's most respected Islamic institutions, underlines the rapid growth of the listed Islamic securities sector."

The transaction was oversubscribed by 7.2 times, receiving around 120 orders amounting to $3.6 billion.

The 5-year notes were priced at a profit rate of 2.843 per cent or 110 bps above prevailing 5-year Mid Swaps.

Banks and financial institutions received the lion's share of the sukuk offering, with 59%, followed by fund managers and hedge funds with 33%, supranationals and central banks with 6%, and others with 2%. Around 63% of investors were from the Middle East, 23% from Asia and 14% from Europe.

Global sukuk issuance is expected to remain resilient in 2015 at about $100 billion to $120 billion, according to RAM Ratings.

Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said: "Nasdaq Dubai is committed to further enhancing its Sukuk listing procedures and framework, to ensure streamlined access to the exchange for issuers and ongoing support post-listing. In addition we will introduce new initiatives to meet the needs of market participants."
 

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