Emirates Islamic closes US$750mn sukuk issuance

Dubai / WAM

Emirates Islamic, a Dubai-based Islamic financial institution, on Tuesday announced that it had successfully closed the issuance of a US$750 million 5-year sukuk from its US$2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme. The issue, which will be listed on NASDAQ Dubai and the Irish Stock Exchange, received overwhelming investor interest from across the globe and marked the bank’s return to the international debt capital markets after a period of four years.
In September 2015, Fitch, the global ratings agency, assigned Emirates Islamic a long term Issuer Default Rating, IDR, of ‘A+’ with a Stable Outlook, placing Emirates Islamic among the highest rated banks in the UAE.
Commenting on the Sukuk issuance, Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic, said: “We are extremely proud that the Sukuk issuance has been heavily oversubscribed, a testament to our success and investors’ belief in our growth potential. As one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE last year, we are confident of maintaining our growth momentum over the coming years. We have decided to tap the market now to take advantage of the current market rates to drive our strategy and help us achieve our goal to become the clear leader in the Islamic banking sector.”
For the twelve months ending December 31, 2015, the bank reported a 76 percent year-on-year increase in net profit to AED641mn. The bank’s total net income (net of customers’ share of profit) during the period rose to AED2.43bn, up 25% compared to AED1.95bn in 2014.
Bin Ghalaita added, “The strong demand for this Sukuk is a clear sign of the resilience of the UAE economy, positive outlook of the nation’s banking sector and the bank’s strong credit fundamentals and growth outlook. Dubai has clearly emerged as the global hub for Sukuk, and we expect that this listing will give further impetus to Dubai’s aim to become the global capital of Islamic economy, as per the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.”
The Sukuk was priced at 5Y Mid-swap+220bps and oversubscribed by 2.95 times. It attracted investment from across GCC, Asia and Europe.