Emirates Islamic Issues World's First Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk Of USD 500 Million

(MENAFN- Mid-East Info) The landmark issuance garnered significant global investor interest, underscoring the growing appeal of sustainable Islamic finance

Dubai, September 2025: Emirates Islamic, a leading Islamic financial institution in the UAE and part of Emirates NBD Group, announced it has successfully priced a USD 500 million Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk. This ground-breaking issuance is the first Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk globally, showcasing Emirates Islamic's commitment to sustainable finance and its key role in supporting the UAE's sustainability goals.

The Sukuk attracted a very strong order book reaching USD 1.2 billion and was oversubscribed 2.4 times.

The issuance drew diversified interest, with 10% institutions in Europe, 5% in Asia, and 83% in the Middle East participating, underscoring global confidence in Emirates Islamic's financial strength (Fitch A+) and its commitment to sustainable Islamic finance.

Strong demand allowed the bank to compress the spread to 95 basis points over 5-year US Treasuries, equating to a profit rate of 4.540% per annum. Allocation saw 75% of the Sukuk go to banks and private banks, 20% to fund managers, and 5% to Investments/Public Funds/Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Farid AlMulla, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic, said:“We are proud of this Sukuk's success which showcases the confidence international investors have with Emirates Islamic's financial performance and the overall UAE credit story. The new Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk Framework demonstrates our bank's innovation in this space and aligns with our long-term strategy”.

Mohammad Kamran Wajid, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic, added:“We have a successful track record in the international Sukuk market and this transaction cements our profile with fixed income investors. We were extremely pleased with the strong investor demand and appetite for this sustainability linked issuance”.

Ebrahim Qayed, Head of Treasury and Markets, Emirates Islamic, commented:“The market's reaction to our new Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk has been truly outstanding. This successful issue, a world-first, clearly shows that investors are increasingly keen on new, Shariah-compliant sustainable finance opportunities from Emirates Islamic.”

Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD, said:“This landmark transaction underlines our role as a pioneer in sustainable finance and reflects our commitment to embedding sustainability at the heart of our strategy while supporting the UAE's Net Zero 2050 ambition.”

The Sukuk was issued under Emirates Islamic's USD 4 billion Sukuk programme, which is listed on both Nasdaq Dubai and Euronext Dublin stock exchanges. The proceeds from this issue will fund various general corporate purpose sustainability-linked financing projects, in line with Emirates Islamic's Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk Framework. This framework has received a Second Party Opinion from ISS-Corporate confirming its alignment with international best practice.

Emirates NBD Capital and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Sustainability Advisors. The Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for this deal were Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C), Citibank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, Mashreq, Sharjah Islamic Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

About Emirates Islamic:

Emirates Islamic (DFM: EIB), part of Emirates NBD Group, is a leading Islamic financial institution in the UAE. Established in 2004 as Emirates Islamic Bank, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE.

Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of Shariah-compliant products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 40 branches and 229 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast-growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank is an innovator, being the first Islamic bank in the UAE to launch a mobile banking app and offer Apple Pay, as well as being the first Islamic bank in the world to launch Chat Banking services for customers via WhatsApp.

Emirates Islamic has consistently received local and international awards, in recognition of its strong record of performance and innovation in banking. Emirates Islamic was recognized as 'Best Overall Islamic Bank' and 'Most Innovative Islamic Bank' at the Islamic Finance News Awards 2024. The Bank was also named the 'Most Innovative Islamic Bank' at the prestigious Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards 2024.

As part of its commitment to the UAE community, the Emirates Islamic Charity Fund provides financial aid to those in need, with a focus on food, shelter, health, education and social welfare contributions.

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