Wins for its recently launched AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk, the first such dirham sukuk issuance by a UAE bank.
Dubai, 24 July 2023: Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, announced that it has been awarded the ‘Most Innovative Sukuk’ award by the globally renowned Financial Times’ monthly publication, The Banker, for its inaugural AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk.
Emirates Islamic recently announced the successful pricing of its inaugural AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk, the first such dirham sukuk issuance by a UAE bank. The Sukuk sale is intended to expand financing options for UAE corporations with Shari’ah-compliant needs while enhancing the development of the medium-term dirham yield curve. The three-year issue attracted a strong orderbook and was 2.5 times oversubscribed which allowed the Bank to tighten the profit rate to 5.05%, at a spread of 67 basis points over UAE Government Treasuries.
Salah Amin, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic commented, “At Emirates Islamic, we are extremely pleased to be awarded as ‘Most Innovative Sukuk’ by The Banker. Emirates Islamic’s benchmark dirham sukuk further underscores the dirham bond market’s role as a significant and competitively priced source of funding for corporates. As a home-grown bank, Emirates Islamic is proud to play an important role in reinforcing the UAE’s position as the financial center of the region and supporting government initiatives.”
Mohammad Kamran Wajid, Deputy CEO of Emirates Islamic added, “We are pleased to be recognised by a prominent institution like The Banker for our contribution to supporting UAE government initiatives to develop the local debt market. The strong vote of confidence on our inaugural AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk from global Shari’ah-compliant investors reflects Emirates Islamic’s standing as an innovation-led leader in the UAE Islamic banking sector.”
About Emirates Islamic:
Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is a leading Islamic financial institution 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’ah-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 42 branches and 211 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. In 2023, Emirates Islamic was awarded the ‘Most Innovative Sukuk’ award at The Banker Islamic Banking Awards for its AED 1 billion dirham-denominated sukuk, the first such dirham sukuk issuance by a UAE bank. The bank also won ‘Best Islamic Real Estate Deal’ at the prestigious Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards 2023 for facilitating a real estate financing deal for a leading Dubai-based conglomerate.
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.
