Emirates lists $913 million sukuk

Nasdaq Dubai positioned to play important role in the growth of Islamic products.

Dubai: Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, rang the market-opening bell on Wednesday to celebrate the listing of a $913 million sukuk by the world’s biggest airline by international passenger traffic on Nasdaq Dubai.

The listing brings the total value of sukuk listed on Dubai’s exchanges to $34.96 billion, reinforcing Dubai’s position as an international centre for sukuk activity and underlining its growth as the global capital of the Islamic economy, the Dubai-based international financial exchange said in a statement.

Shaikh Ahmed said as Emirates continues to strengthen its global network and fleet, Nasdaq Dubai’s exceptional links to international and regional investors provide the airline with an effective platform to support its aircraft financing initiatives.

“Nasdaq Dubai’s stature as the international exchange serving our home region, operating to high regulatory standards, makes Nasdaq Dubai an ideal listing venue for Emirates. This transaction set many new milestones including being the first time that a sukuk has been used to finance and pre-fund the acquisition of our A380 aircraft. We are pleased with the tremendous response and confidence that investors have in Emirates, and will continue our strategy to maintain a diverse portfolio of financing sources,” said Shaikh Ahmed.

The $913 million sukuk listed on Nasdaq Dubai on April 1. It follows the airline’s listing of a $1 billion sukuk on the exchange on March 20, 2013.

The sale proceeds of the sukuk, guaranteed by Britain’s export credit agency, are being used to pay for four Airbus A380-800 planes.

The sukuk market in the GCC has been resilient to lower oil prices so far as the region holds ample surpluses that can weather such shocks.

The global sukuk market is expected to sustain the upward trend in 2015 and will reach $145 billion compared to $116.4 billion last year. The World Bank also estimates that sukuk represents approximately 15 per cent of the $1.8 trillion in global Islamic assets, growing at around 20 per cent annually for the past five years.

Essa Kazim, Governor of Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre, said the sukuk listing by one of the UAE’s most prominent and dynamic enterprises further advances the growth of Dubai as the global capital of Islamic economy.

“Dubai’s exchanges will continue to strengthen their expertise and services in the sukuk sector,” he noted.

Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, said the exchange looked forward to listing further sukuk issued by regional and international companies active in a wide range of industry sectors.

“Nasdaq Dubai is positioned to play an increasingly important role in the growth of Islamic products, as they broaden their appeal to investors in diverse regions of the world. Our global investor links and efficient exchange infrastructure complement our role as the international exchange located in the heart of the Moslem world,” said Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai.

Other guests present at the ceremony included Philip Parham, The British Ambassador to the UAE and Edward Hobart, UK Consul General to the UAE. Key stakeholders in the sukuk transaction present at the ceremony included UK Export Finance, represented by Gareth Waterhouse, as well as senior representatives from eight banks.