BNY Mellon Appointed Delegate And Paying Agent For DIFC Investments Sukuk

BNY Mellon has been appointed delegate, principal paying agent, registrar and transfer agent for a Sukuk launched by DIFC Investments LLC (DIFCI).

The 10-year Sukuk, priced at $700 million, will pay a 4.3 per cent profit rate per annum. The joint lead managers on the issuance are Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD Capital, Noor Bank P.J.S.C. and Standard Chartered Bank. The Sukuk was assigned a BBB- credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.

His Excellency Essa Abdulfattah Kazim, Governor of DIFC, said, “This is DIFC’s first debt issuance since 2007 and is testament to the improved credit fundamentals of both the company and Dubai. DIFC has played an important role in supporting the development of Islamic finance by undertaking a sole listing of the Sukuk on NASDAQ Dubai which reinforces the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai as the global hub for Islamic finance.”

The volume of Sukuk issuance in the Gulf region this year has already surpassed $20 billion and is 27 percent higher than the same period last year.

“We expect the Gulf’s Islamic finance industry to maintain its rapid growth,” added Brian Hoey, head of Sales and Relationship Management of Corporate Trust MENA at BNY Mellon. “This expansion will be driven by ambitious projects in the region such as the 2020 World Expo trade convention in Dubai which will stimulate more demand for exhibition centres, transport networks and hotels. We are also seeing strong investor demand; the DIFCI Sukuk was over four times oversubscribed and priced at 185 basis points above the US dollar mid-swaps rate.”

Originally published on www.cpifinancial.net