Nasdaq Dubai, the international stock exchange within the Dubai International Financial Centre, has won its second big Asian sukuk this month, with the listing of a US$1 billion sovereign bond by the government of Hong Kong.
The move by Hong Kong was welcomed by Dubai authorities. “Choosing Nasdaq Dubai as a platform to list the world’s first dollar sukuk issued by a AAA-rated government falls in line with the initiative launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as the centre of Islamic economy,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, told Wam.
The Hong Kong listing follows the successful issue of a 1bn yuan (Dh598.15 million) sukuk by Agricultural Bank of China, China's third biggest bank by assets, which also began trading on Nasdaq Dubai yesterday.
Essa Kazim, the DIFC governor, said Dubai’s “sophisticated financial infrastructure” would help to promote an offshore yuan market, and hinted that Chinese and other Asian corporates might want to use Nasdaq Dubai as their primary capital market.
However, Nasdaq Dubai is unlikely to get the $500m sukuk issued recently by the US investment bank Goldman Sachs. A DIFC source said it would probably be listed in Luxembourg, and that Goldman did not want the paperwork that went with a dual listing.
fkane@thenational.ae
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