Sharjah lists $1b sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

16/03/2018 07:34 AST

Nasdaq Dubai on Thursday welcomed the listing of a $1 billion Sukuk issued by the Emirate of Sharjah. It is the first sovereign Sukuk to be issued in the GCC in 2018, as well as the Sharjah’s third and largest Sukuk listing on the exchange.

The 10-year Sukuk follows previous Sukuk listings by the emirate on Nasdaq Dubai of $750 million and $500 million in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The latest listing raises the total value of Sukuk listed in Dubai to $56.465 billion, the largest amount of any listing centre in the world. A total of $18.75 billion, amounting to 35 per cent of Nasdaq Dubai’s Sukuk listings, is from sovereign issuers.

Nasdaq Dubai provides Sharjah and its other issuers with a first class listing infrastructure as well as close links to investors in the region and around the world.

Dubai Nasdaq Dubai is the international financial exchange serving the region between Western Europe and East Asia. It welcomes regional as well as global issuers that seek regional and international investment.

The exchange currently lists shares, derivatives, Sukuk (Islamic bonds), conventional bonds and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). The majority shareholder of Nasdaq Dubai is Dubai Financial Market with a two-thirds stake. Borse Dubai owns one third of the shares.

The regulator of Nasdaq Dubai is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Nasdaq Dubai is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Nasdaq Dubai recently welcomed the listing of two bonds with a total value of $1.4 billion issued by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by assets.

The bonds of $700 million each bring the total value of listings by ICBC on Nasdaq Dubai to $3.56 billion from seven issuances, the highest value of bond listings on the exchange by any overseas issuer. All the bonds were issued by ICBC Dubai International Financial Centre branch.

The listings underline the strong financial and economic relationship between Dubai and China, which is the UAE’s largest trading partner.

Nasdaq Dubai, the region’s international exchange, provides ICBC and its other issuers with a first class listing infrastructure as well as close links to investors around the world.

The Gulf Today