Issuer: EI Sukuk Company
Size: Dh1 billion
Structure: Sukuk
Tenor: Three years
Banks: Emirates NBD Capital (global coordinator), Dubai Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Standard Chartered (joint lead managers and joint bookrunners)
Date: February 2023
Over the past few years, the UAE government has been championing the growth and development of the domestic debt market, spurring local currency issuance in sukuk and conventional bond format.
One bank at the forefront of this development is Emirates Islamic Bank, a subsidiary of Emirates NBD group, which broke new ground for the UAE last year when it became the first financial institution from the country to issue a dirham-denominated sukuk.
The Dh1 billion ($270 million) three-year deal in February was more than twice oversubscribed with an orderbook of Dh2.5 billion, enabling the issuer and the bookrunning banks to price it at a spread of 67 basis points over UAE government treasuries, with a profit rate of 5.05 %.
Importantly, the launch of the sukuk followed Emirate NBD’s debut Dh1 billion three-year bond sale in January – again the first by a UAE bank – which was priced wider than the sukuk at 83bp over UAE government treasuries.