22 Jun, 2016Emirates Islamic Chairman rings bell to celebrate listing of USD 750 million Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

• Ceremony underlines Nasdaq Dubai’s no. 1 position globally for Sukuk listings

• Sukuk issuance and listing reflects EI’s commitment to Islamic capital markets

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD Group, rang the market-opening bell today to celebrate the listing by the bank of a 750 million dollar Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai.

The nominal value of Sukuk currently listed on Nasdaq Dubai has reached 41.81 billion US dollars, the largest total of any exchange in the world. Total current Sukuk listings on Dubai exchanges stand at 44.56 billion US dollars, more than any other listing centre.

The bell-ringing ceremony was held in the presence of His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Secretary General of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), and Chairman of Dubai Financial Market (DFM); Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai; Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic and Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai.

HE Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, Secretary General of DIEDC and Chairman of DFM,said:

"Emirates Islamic’s Sukuk underlines Dubai’s expanding leadership role in all aspects of the Sukuk sector, ranging from Sharia’a compliance and structuring to issuance and listing. Dubai’s exchanges are further enhancing their commercial and regulatory infrastructure in order to provide effective solutions for regional and international issuers who wish to raise capital through the Islamic financial markets and gain high visibility for their securities."

The Sukuk was listed on Nasdaq Dubai on June 1, 2016.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD Group, said: "As one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, Emirates Islamic is committed to strengthening the development of Dubai as the global Capital of the Islamic Economy in line with the initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minster, and Ruler of Dubai. Our latest Sukuk received strong interest from across the GCC, Europe and Asia, reflecting Emirates Islamic’s successful track record of profitability and expansion. Emirates Islamic has been one of the fastest-growing banks in the UAE in recent years and we will use the funding raised by the Sukuk to help drive our strategy of expansion across our business activities."

Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, said: "Dubai’s Islamic capital markets are preparing for renewed expansion through the development of new products and services as well as continuing growth of the Sukuk sector. We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with Emirates Islamic and other Sharia’a-compliant financial institutions for the benefit of market participants."

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic, said: "The Emirates Islamic Sukuk issuance was extremely successful and a testament to the growth potential of Emirates Islamic within the overall UAE banking sector. The issue was oversubscribed by nearly three times with overwhelming interest from investors across the globe. It is clear that there is a strong global appetite for Shari’a-compliant financial instruments and as a leading Islamic bank in the UAE, we will continue our efforts to reinforce Dubai’s position as the global capital of Islamic economy."

Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq said: "As Dubai strengthens its position as the global leader for Sukuk listings, we will continue to develop our services for UAE, regional and international issuers including custody and transfer. Nasdaq Dubai will further enhance its listing infrastructure and procedures, to ensure streamlined access to the exchange for issuers of diverse asset classes."