Emirates Development Bank (EDB) rang Nasdaq Dubai’s market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of a $750 million bond, in the presence of Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank and Mr. Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai.
The five-year bond was priced at 1.639 percent yield and was four times oversubscribed due to significant investor demand, with 34 percent of interest coming from MENA markets, 36 percent from European markets, 28 percent from Asian markets, and 2 percent from the US offshore market.
Mr. Al Naqbi said, “the successful second issuance of our $750 million bond issue, which was oversubscribed four times, reflects the global & local investor confidence in our strategy to support UAE’s economic diversification plans. The program will be fundamental to support individuals, SMEs, and corporates across priority industrial sectors in the UAE to build a knowledge-based economy.”
The offering reinforces Dubai’s position as the largest listing venue in the Middle East for US dollar-denominated debt listings with a total value of $96.876 billion.
Mr. Ali also commented that “these transactions, including the new bond listing from EDB, indicate their deep confidence in the robust listing framework of Nasdaq Dubai in line with the requirements of prominent corporations and investors.”
The EDB intends to invest in industries such as health care, infrastructure, food security, and technology, resulting in the creation of 25,000 employment. By 2031, the strategy is expected to establish 13,500 new industrial enterprises and increase industrial research and development spending from 1.3 percent to 2 percent of GDP.
EDB is expected to play a key role in promoting the UAE’s industrial policy as part of Operation 300bn, the government’s attempt to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP to Dh300 billion by 2031 from the current Dh133 billion.
