Emirates Islamic (“EI” or the “Bank”), one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, announced that it has successfully closed a US$ 500 million 5-year Sukuk issued from its US$ 2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme.
The landmark issuance, rated A+ by Fitch, is listed on NASDAQ Dubai and Euronext Dublin’s Regulated Market. Investors showed strong appetite which resulted in an order book that peaked at USD$ 1.2 billion, which was 2.4 times the issuance size. This strong demand, from a global investor base, enabled the Bank to tighten the spread on the sukuk by 25 basis points from initial guidance, resulting in a profit rate of 2.082% per annum. This pricing represents the lowest spread ever paid by a UAE bank since 2008 for a US$ benchmark public debt issuance, further reiterating the Bank’s strong appeal to investors.
The transaction reopened the debt capital markets for regional issuers following a period of volatility, demonstrating a strong leadership from Emirates Islamic.
“Emirates NBD Capital” and “Standard Chartered Bank” acted as Global Coordinators and were joined by “Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank P.J.S.C.”, “Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C.)”, “Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC”, “HSBC Bank plc”, “The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector” and “KFH Capital Investment Company K.S.C.C.” as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners. “Kuwait International Bank” acted as Co-Manager.
Commenting on the sukuk issue, Salah Amin, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic, said, “We are extremely pleased and proud in taking a leadership role in reopening the regional Sukuk/debt capital markets. The oversubscription and tight pricing of the issue demonstrates the strong investor confidence in our financials and growth outlook as well as the favourable outlook for the UAE economy. The response from regional and global investors has been tremendous and we see this as a positive endorsement of the Bank’s credit strength and investor proposition.”
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About Emirates Islamic:
Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE. Established in 2004 as Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE.
Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of Shari’a-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 41 branches and 194 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast-growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank is an innovator, being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app and offer Apple Pay, as well as being the first Islamic bank in the world to launch Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp.
Emirates Islamic has consistently received local and international awards, in recognition of its strong record of performance and innovation in banking. The bank was named ‘Best Islamic Bank in Customer Experience, UAE, 2020’ at the World Finance Islamic Finance Awards 2021 and received the ‘Best Digital Innovation in Islamic Banking’ award at MEA Finance Banking Technology Summit & Awards, in recognition of its commitment to service excellence and digitisation.It was awarded 'Best Credit Card in the UAE' for its Skywards Black Credit Card and also received the 'Best Credit Card' award for its Emarati Visa Signature credit card at the 2021 International Finance Awards.
As part of its commitment to the UAE community, the Emirates Islamic Charity Fund provides financial aid to those in need, with a focus on food, shelter, health, education and social welfare contributions. Emirates Islamic is the Official Islamic Banking Partner to Expo 2020 Dubai.
For further information please visit www.emiratesislamic.ae
Or please contact:
Amina Al Zarooni
Media Relations Manager, Emirates Islamic
Tel: 971 4 4397430; Mob: 971 56 6405080
Email: AminaAlZarooni@emiratesislamic.ae
Tricia Kaul | Imam Asalie
asda’a bcw, Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600, Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: Tricia.Kaul@bcw-global.com | Imam.Alsalie@bcw-global.com