Abu Dhabi, UAE — The UAE Ministry of Finance said on Sunday it had launched its first-ever seven-year tranche of dirham-denominated Islamic Treasury Sukuk worth 550 million dirhams (about $150 million), marking the longest tenor issued under the program to date.
The ministry, acting as issuer in collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE as issuing and payment agent, said the move reflects a strategic direction to extend and deepen the UAE dirham yield curve.
The new tranche attracted demand of approximately 3.1 billion dirhams, nearly six times the issuance size, underscoring investor appetite for the sovereign’s Islamic debt instruments.
The launch formed part of the successful completion of the February auction of UAE dirham-denominated Islamic Treasury Sukuk, with a total issuance of 1.1 billion dirhams across two tranches maturing in May 2030 and February 2033.
Total bids reached 5.88 billion dirhams, representing an oversubscription ratio of 5.3 times, with the seven-year tranche oversubscribed by around six times.
The auction achieved market-driven pricing, with a yield to maturity of 3.53 percent for the May 2030 tranche and 3.779 percent for the February 2033 tranche. The longer-dated tranche was priced below par to comparable U.S. Treasuries at the time of issuance.
The sukuk are listed under the UAE Treasury Islamic Sukuk Program on Nasdaq Dubai, providing investors access to the secondary market.
The Islamic Treasury Sukuk program supports the development of the UAE’s dirham-denominated yield curve, offers secure investment instruments to a broad range of investors, and reinforces the local debt capital market as part of the country’s long-term economic sustainability objectives.
