Emirates NBD Lists $750 Bond On Nasdaq Dubai

Emirates NBD listed a $750 million bond on the Nasdaq Dubai stock exchange on Sunday, as the Dubai lender attempts to boost its supplementary capital.

The issue was three and a half times oversubscribed with more than 160 orders received from regional and international investors.

The bond was split geographically with 47 per cent allocated to MENA-based investors, 28 per cent to investors based in Asia and 25 per cent to European investors.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, vice chairman at Emirates NBD, said: “The exchange’s international stature gives our bond high visibility, both across the region where our business is focused, and beyond.

“Listing the bond on Nasdaq Dubai means we also benefit from the support of an international regulatory framework from within the UAE. The listing process was streamlined and attractive to us as an issuer seeking to undertake an international bond issue”.

The issue is the latest in a string of conventional and Islamic bonds to have been listed by Dubai companies so far in 2013. In January, the government listed a Sukuk and a conventional bond on the Dubai Financial Market priced at $1.25 billion.

Earlier this month the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Emirates Airline each listed a $1 billion dollar Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai.

Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, said: “As the latest in a series of debt issuances and listings in Dubai this year, Emirates NBD’s bond is further evidence that the sector is successfully meeting the capital-raising needs of regional businesses in an expanding economy.

“Dubai’s capital markets will continue to gain critical mass in both the conventional and Islamic sectors, maintaining their focus on providing excellence for investors through a wide range of financing options.”

The listing brings the nominal value of conventional bonds and Sukuk on Dubai exchanges to $19.70 billion.