DIB celebrates listing of $1b sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Dubai Islamic Bank, DIB, rang the market-opening bell on Tuesday to celebrate the listing of a $1 billion Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai.

The Sukuk achieved a strong 5.7 times subscription rate, attracting more than 150 high-quality investors from the Middle East and around the world. The profit rate of 4.625 percent per annum is the lowest yield achieved by any bank globally on an Additional Tier 1, AT1, Sukuk issue.

The successful debt issuance was DIB’s first since it completed the integration of Noor Bank, further enhancing DIB’s position as one of the leading Islamic banks in the world.

Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group Chief Executive Officer of DIB, said, “The very high demand for our latest Sukuk issuance clearly demonstrates the market’s confidence in DIB’s growth strategy. DIB’s success in this landmark transaction that carries the lowest ever yield achieved by any bank globally on an AT1 Sukuk issue and is the only AT1 Sukuk from the GCC in 2020, is a testament to the bank’s strong credit profile and standing with international and regional investors.”

“In line with the ambitions laid out by the UAE leadership, we will continue our ground-breaking initiatives that support the UAE economy and international markets alike. Our listing on Nasdaq Dubai, as the region’s international financial exchange, supports our links with investors around the world through the high visibility and well regulated platform that the exchange provides.”

DIB is the leading UAE-based Sukuk issuer by value on Nasdaq Dubai with a total of US$7.3 billion, including the latest one billion US dollar listing.

Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, said, “We are committed to supporting DIB as one of the region’s leading banks as it pursues its development as a significant provider of services in Islamic financing for businesses and individuals. Dubai will maintain its expansion as the global capital of the Islamic economy.”

DIB’s latest Sukuk brings the total value of Sukuk listed in Dubai to US$75.3 billion, making the emirate one of the largest Islamic bond listing centres in the world by value.

So far in 2020, the value of all new debt listings on Nasdaq Dubai has reached a record annual high of 18.4 billion US dollars, up 4% from the previous record of 17.7 billion US dollars in all of 2019.

Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai and Deputy Chief Executive of Dubai Financial Market, said, “As the market for Sukuk and other debt issuance has remained strong in 2020, Nasdaq Dubai has been delighted to collaborate with leading issuers in the UAE and overseas to support their listings. The exchange looks forward to further expanding its debt market activities in coming months and years to promote more capital raising transactions and opportunities for regional and global investors.”

Global Sukuk issuance reached US$130.5 billion in the first 9 months of 2020, up 2.5% from US$127.3 billion in the same period of 2019, according to Refinitiv.

The State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020/2021 estimates that the value of all Islamic finance assets will increase by 28% from US$2.88 trillion in 2019 to US$3.69 trillion by 2024.

DIB’s latest one billion US dollar Sukuk listed on Nasdaq Dubai on 19th November, 2020.

Meanwhile, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest bank and one of the world’s largest and safest financial institutions, has launched its Electronic Direct Debit System (eDDS), a service that will allow corporates to offer their customers an automated mechanism to pay their bills.

The eDDS enables merchants to collect payments from customers by debiting their bank account based on a pre-agreed authorisation setup (mandates). Merchants benefit from one of the most secure and centralised electronic payment methods using Direct Debit.  Benefits also include a reduction of the cash conversion cycle and of administration costs.  Payers also benefit because of the convenience and time saving aspect provided by the service, as it eliminates the need to write and post cheques or make cash or card payments.

The eDDS introduced by FAB eliminates the current manual and paper-based process by offering an automated solution for registering mandates and a fully digital experience to both merchants and payers who are FAB accountholders.  Merchants will also enjoy greater flexibility and savings in costs, as the new portal allows Payers to self-register. In addition, the eDDS portal provides a central platform for Payers to view and manage all their mandates and offers them a full view of their past and future DDS payments.