Dubai: Dubai Investments PJSC’s property unit hired HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc. to sell Islamic bonds early next year as it seeks to refinance an existing sukuk, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
Dubai Investments Park Development Co., which develops and manages property for the holding company, is also working with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD PJSC and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC to place the five-year notes, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The sale could raise about $500 million (Dh1.84 billion) one of the people said.
“The DIP sukuk 2014 is maturing in February 2019 and DIPDC is considering refinancing the sukuk through various means including a potential sukuk issuance,” Khalid Bin Kalban, chief executive officer and managing director of Dubai Investments, said in an emailed statement without giving further details.
Dubai Investments, whose businesses span real-estate, manufacturing, financial services, health care and education, posted a 13 per cent decline in nine-month profit to Dh724 million ($197 million).
Sales of Islamic bonds in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which include the two biggest Arab economies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have declined 22 per cent this year to $17.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, Middle East sukuk have returned 0.9 per cent so far this year, compared with a 0.1 per cent return for conventional bonds, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.
