Emirates Islamic Lists World’s First Sustainability-Linked Sukuk

Nasdaq Dubai has officially welcomed the listing of USD 500 million Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk issued by Emirates Islamic, heralding what the bank describes as the world’s first issuance of its kind. The structure is designed to tie financial terms to environmental and sustainability metrics, reflecting escalating demand in both Islamic finance and ESG markets.

The Sukuk is issued under Emirates Islamic’s USD 4 billion Sukuk Programme and attracted strong international interest, with orders totalling USD 1.2 billion, an oversubscription of 2.4 times. The final profit rate was tightened to 4.540 per cent per annum, at a spread of 95 basis points over 5-year US Treasuries. To signify the listing, Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Chairman of Emirates Islamic and Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Emirates NBD, rang the bell at Nasdaq Dubai, accompanied by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market.

This issuance pushes Emirates Islamic’s total active sukuk listings on Nasdaq Dubai to USD 2.77 billion, while the total outstanding value of sukuk listed on the exchange has now crossed USD 100 billion. Within that, Nasdaq Dubai currently hosts USD 140 billion in fixed-income instruments and USD 28.7 billion in ESG-tagged listings — of which USD 1.55 billion are sustainability-linked.

The Sukuk’s framework is governed by the bank’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Sukuk Framework, which has secured a Second Party Opinion from ISS-Corporate, affirming its alignment with international best practice. Proceeds are intended for general corporate sustainable finance projects, with compliance to Shariah principles overseen by the bank’s internal supervision committee.

Emirates Islamic frames this as cementing its leadership in sustainable Islamic finance and aligning with the UAE’s broader Net Zero by 2050 goals, emphasising its ability to deliver advanced, Shariah-compliant solutions. Hamed Ali described the transaction as a landmark for both Nasdaq Dubai and the wider Islamic finance industry, attributing the listing to Dubai’s growing status as a global hub for sustainable capital markets.

This development marks an evolution from the bank’s earlier sustainability debut. In May 2024, Emirates Islamic issued a USD 750 million five-year “Sustainability Sukuk” — its first — which was oversubscribed 2.8 times and priced with a profit rate of 5.431 per cent, at 100 basis points over US Treasuries. That issuance was issued under Emirates NBD’s Sustainable Finance Framework and aligned with then-new guidance published by ICMA, the Islamic Development Bank and LSEG.