Emirates Islamic announced today that it successfully issued a $750 million senior unsecured sukuk on March 18, 2025. The sukuk attracted a very strong order book exceeding $1.6 billion, resulting in a 2.1 times oversubscription rate.
“This milestone emphasizes the increasing recognition of Emirates Islamic among the global investor community. Islamic Finance continues to see strong growth while delivering increasingly sophisticated products and structures,” stated Farid AlMulla, CEO of Emirates Islamic.
Emirates Islamic tightens spread by 30 basis points
The strong investor demand allowed the bank to tighten the spread by 30 basis points from initial price thoughts to 95 basis points over 5-year U.S. Treasuries, equating to a coupon of 5.059 percent per annum. This latest landmark issue supports the bank’s strategic growth journey as well as the continued progress of the Islamic finance industry.
“The market response to our new sukuk issuance has been phenomenal. Concluding two sizable deals of $750 million each in two consecutive years is a testimony of the global market’s growing appetite for investment opportunities from Emirates Islamic,” added Ebrahim Qayed, head of treasury and markets at Emirates Islamic.
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Sukuk sees demand from over 100 investors
The issuance was well received by global investors with 80 percent of the sukuk allocated to regional investors and the remaining 20 percent allocated to international investors. There was demand from over 100 investors, including a considerable amount of new investors who bought the bank’s sukuk for the first time, reflecting the increasing name recognition of Emirates Islamic among the global investor community.
“We are proud to conclude the next Sukuk in the growth journey of Emirates Islamic in line with our vision to be the most innovative Shariah-compliant bank for our counterparties, customers, people, and communities. As the UAE’s preferred Islamic bank, Emirates Islamic remains committed to developing pioneering products and services to cater to the increasing demand for innovative Islamic finance solutions based on the highest standards of ethical banking,” added Mohammad Kamran Wajid, deputy CEO of Emirates Islamic.
Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Mashreqbank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sharjah Islamic Bank acted as the Joint Lead Managers for the issuance.
