A $500 million Islamic bond, known as a sukuk, listed by Dubai Islamic Bank on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange has raised the value of the bank’s total sukuk listings on regional exchanges to $3.25 billion.
The listing brings the total value of sukuk listed in Dubai to nearly $43 billion, which the bank says is the largest for any listing centre.
“Given the challenging market conditions, it was critical to have a strong credit come in and successfully close a deal,” said Adnan Chilwan, group chief executive for Dubai Islamic Bank.
Sukuk are financial instruments that mimic the characteristics of a bond while avoiding paying interest, which is forbidden in Islam. Instead, sukuk typically generate a return based on rent on an underlying asset.
“The sukuk sector will continue to be a core focus for Nasdaq Dubai as we look forward to further listings in 2016 and beyond from a range of issuers,” said Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai.
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