106
Abu Dhabi Islamic
(ADIB) sukuk 2012
Medjool sukuk 2013 Khadrawy sukuk
2015
Amount USD1 billion USD1 billion USD 913 million
Periodic
distribution
6.375% 3.875% 2.471%
Listing London Stock
Exchange
Nasdaq Dubai London Stock Exchange
& Nasdaq Dubai
Geographical
distribution of
investors
n/a n/a Middle East and Asia
(49%), Europe (32%),
US (29%).
Sources: ISRA (2017), ISRA (2016)
Analysis of Sukuk Issuances – Supply (Sell Side)
The growth of the UAE’s sukuk market is predominantly driven by market players seeking to
diversify their funding and investment portfolios. Private sector sukuk issuances, which
include GREs and other corporates, account for the bulk of sukuk issuance in the UAE, with
banks and real-estate companies dominating the market, as illustrated in Chart 4.26. The need
to strengthen the capital structure of Islamic banks and comply with Basel III requirements as
well as the more numerous infrastructure projects by the Dubai government have contributed
to this trend.
Chart 4.26: UAE Corporate Sukuk Issuance by Sector (2007-June 2017)
Source: Bloomberg
Sovereign sukuk constituted only a small number of issuances (or USD11.94 billion) between
2006 and end-June 2017. Chart 4.27 depicts the number of sovereign issuances in comparison
to public sector issuances. It was only in 2009 that sovereign issuance surpassed corporate
issuance. The Abu Dhabi government, in particular, has not issued any sovereign sukuk but
instead has raised funding via a series of conventional bonds, to finance its budget deficit amid
the oil price turmoil, as indicated earlier.