Nasdaq Dubai Lists Al Masraf’s $500M Bond Debut

Nasdaq Dubai has welcomed the listing of a USD 500 million bond issued by Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade PJSC (Al Masraf). This marks Al Masraf’s first entry into the international debt capital markets, strengthening Dubai’s growing position as a major hub for global bond listings.

The bond was issued under Al Masraf’s USD 5 billion Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme. It is a five-year bond that will mature on 29 January 2031 and carries a coupon rate of 5.113% per year, equal to a credit spread of 125 basis points over U.S. Treasuries.

The bond received strong investor interest. The order book reached more than USD 1.3 billion, making the issuance 2.6 times oversubscribed.

Investors included a wide mix of regional and international participants, such as major fund managers, banks, private banks, pension funds, and insurance companies. The mandate for the bond was announced on 16 January, and pricing was completed on 22 January, after investor meetings held in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the UAE.

The bond is rated ‘A’ by Fitch and is listed on both the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market and Nasdaq Dubai.

To celebrate the listing, Fuad Mohamed, CEO of Al Masraf, rang the market-opening bell at Nasdaq Dubai along with Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and senior officials from both sides.

Fuad Mohamed said the strong demand shows investor confidence in Al Masraf’s renewed strategy, stronger management, and improved financial performance over the last year. He added that the bond debut, which comes during the bank’s Golden Jubilee year, helps the bank reach international investors while strengthening ties with regional partners.

Hamed Ali said the successful listing reflects continued investor confidence in high-quality regional issuers and highlights the steady development of the UAE’s debt capital markets. He also noted that Dubai remains a preferred destination for international debt listings.

Nasdaq Dubai stated that the total value of debt securities listed on the exchange has now crossed USD 147.3 billion, showing the strong and growing demand for Dubai’s international debt market across sovereign, financial institution, and corporate issuers.