Dubai: Dr Aabed Al Saadoun, chairman of the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), on Tuesday rang the market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of a $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai.
The total nominal value of sukuk currently listed in Dubai has now reached $37.81 billion, reinforcing its position as the largest centre in the world for Islamic bond listings.
“A listing on one of the Middle East’s premier financial exchanges provides our inaugural sukuk with global and regional visibility, together with world-class regulation. As a multilateral development bank dedicated to supporting the energy sector with priority given to Arab joint ventures that benefit the members’ states, we look forward to making further use of Islamic financing instruments to fund our initiatives for the benefit of Arab economies,” Dr Al Saadoun said in a statement.
Apicorp’s sukuk is the first to be issued under a $3 billion sukuk programme that the bank announced in July 2015, aimed at diversifying its funding sources and reducing its overall cost of financing.
“This listing by a regional bank that is active in many countries demonstrates the success of Dubai’s capital markets in providing a platform for issuers well beyond the UAE,” Essa Kazim, governor of the DIFC, secretary-general of the DIEDC and chairman of the DFM, said. “Apicorp’s sukuk underlines Dubai’s stature as the leading centre in the world for sukuk listings and its growth as the global capital of the Islamic economy, under the initiative launched in 2013 by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai,”
