Mohammed Abdulla, CEO of Sharjah Islamic Bank, on Wednesday rang the market opening bell to celebrate the listing of a $500 million sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, Arabian Business reports. The sukuk is the bank’s third that is listed on Nasdaq Dubai, the region’s international exchange, following two sukuk listings of $500 million each that were listed by the bank in 2015 and 2016.
The bell-ringing took place in the presence of Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, and other senior executives. Abdulla said:
“The strong investor interest from the Middle East, Europe and Asia in our latest sukuk demonstrates continuing regional and international confidence in SIB credit as we develop and expand our suite of services for a wide range of customers. We were able to achieve our pricing objectives as well as funding diversification strategies in a competitive market for issuers.”
Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, added:
“SIB’s listing adds further momentum to the successful initiative to position Dubai as the global Capital of the Islamic Economy, launched in 2013 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minster, and Ruler of Dubai. Dubai looks forward to welcoming many more regional and international Sukuk issuances from private and public issuers as the sector continues to expand as an effective vehicle for raising capital.”
Dubai is the leading global centre for sukuk listings by value, currently totalling $59.72 billion. Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said:
“As one of the UAE’s most prominent Islamic financial services companies supporting businesses and individuals, SIB’s Sukuk listing underlines the close and mutually beneficial connections that the exchange enjoys with leading UAE and overseas Sharia’a-compliant financial institutions. Nasdaq Dubai is committed to further enhancing its Sukuk listing procedures and framework, to ensure streamlined access to the exchange for issuers and effective support post-listing.”
SIB’s latest 500 million US dollar listing took place on April 18, 2018.
Nasdaq Dubai is the international financial exchange serving the region between Western Europe and East Asia. It welcomes regional as well as global issuers that seek regional and international investment. The exchange currently lists shares, derivatives, Sukuk (Islamic bonds), conventional bonds and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS).
The majority shareholder of Nasdaq Dubai is Dubai Financial Market with a two-thirds stake while Borse Dubai owns one-third of the shares. The regulator of Nasdaq Dubai is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Nasdaq Dubai is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Established in 1975, Sharjah Islamic Bank is one of the leading Islamic Banks of the UAE. The first bank in the world to have converted from a conventional bank to an Islamic in 2002, the bank enjoys the confidence of the Government of Sharjah, which owns 37.5% of the capital and Kuwait Finance House, which owns 18.2% of the bank’s capital. SIB has a branch network of 33 branches across the UAE and enjoys strong investment grade ratings of A3 (Stable) from Moody’s and BBB+ (Stable) from S&P and Fitch.
Read more at Arabian Business