Emirates Islamic successfully priced its first ever $750 million sustainability sukuk, making it the inaugural issuance of its kind in the UAE. The sustainability sukuk was issued following the release of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Guidance on green, social & sustainability sukuk in April 2024. This five-year issuance garnered strong demand from investors across various regions and was oversubscribed 2.8 times. The bank was able to tighten the profit rate to 5.431 per cent per annum, at a spread of 100 basis points over five-year US Treasuries due to an order book exceeding $2.10 billion. The sustainability sukuk was issued in accordance with Emirates NBD Group’s sustainable finance framework and in compliance with Shariah rules and principles as determined by Emirates Islamic’s internal Shariah supervision committee.
Farid Al Mulla, CEO of Emirates Islamic, stated that the issuance of the sustainability sukuk reflects the bank's dedication to sustainable Islamic financing and its commitment to reducing environmental impact in line with the UAE Net Zero by 2050. The CEO emphasized the bank's pledge to promote sustainable Islamic finance and support clients in making sustainable financial decisions to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Mohammad Kamran Wajid, deputy CEO of Emirates Islamic, expressed pride in the conclusion of their first sustainability sukuk, underscoring the bank's commitment to addressing climate change and offering customers sustainable Islamic solutions to support a low-carbon economy.
Vijay Bains, group chief sustainability officer and head of ESG at Emirates NBD, highlighted the bank's commitment to introducing tailored and innovative ESG-linked financial solutions and becoming industry leaders in sustainable finance through the issuance of their first sustainability sukuk.
Emirates NBD Group, along with joint global coordinators Emirates NBD Capital and Standard Chartered Bank, and other joint lead managers and joint bookrunners, successfully worked on the issuance of the sustainability sukuk. The bank is part of the working group that contributed to the labelled sukuk guidance led by ICMA, IsDB, and LSEG, along with other global stakeholders.
In 2023, Emirates NBD celebrated a significant achievement in UAE banking history with the issuance of a Dh1 billion public sukuk, further demonstrating the strength of the dirham sukuk market and the confidence of global Shariah-compliant investors in the local currency market.
