UAE raises $1.5bn from 10-year bonds

The UAE has secured $1.5 billion from the sale of long-term bonds, according to a news report.

The government sold 10-year bonds priced at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, Reuters reported, citing bank documents. 

The initial price guidance was lowered from 90 bps after demand reached $5.75 billion, the report said.

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The total debt capital market in the GCC is likely to cross $1 trillion this year after reaching $940 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

New research from Fitch Ratings shows that more than a third of GCC debt issued last year was in the form of sukuk, also known as an Islamic bond.

Sukuk are sharia-compliant bonds that were developed as an alternative to conventional bonds, which are not considered permissible by many Muslims as they pay interest and may finance businesses involved in activities not allowed under Islamic law

• EU woos Emirati investors while keeping UAE on ‘grey list’
• Abu Dhabi launches $5bn bond issue
• Saudi Arabia’s new sukuk order book hits $20bn

GCC countries account for 35 percent of global outstanding sukuk, which Fitch estimates at about $867 billion at the end of the first quarter, up more than 10 percent year on year. 

Fitch data shows that in the first quarter, GCC banks issued more US dollar debt, 51 percent of which was sukuk, than in all of 2023.