Also present were Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Secretary General of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), and Chairman of Dubai Financial Market (DFM); Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai; and Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai.
Other guests included Philip Parham, British Ambassador to the UAE and Edward Hobart, UK Consul General to the UAE. Key stakeholders in the Sukuk transaction present at the ceremony included UK Export Finance, represented by Gareth Waterhouse, as well as senior representatives from eight banks.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said: “As Emirates continues to strengthen its global network and fleet, Nasdaq Dubai’s exceptional links to international and regional investors provide us with an effective platform to support our aircraft financing initiatives. Its stature as the international exchange serving our home region, operating to high regulatory standards, makes Nasdaq Dubai an ideal listing venue for Emirates. This transaction set many new milestones including being the first time that a Sukuk has been used to finance and pre-fund the acquisition of our A380 aircraft. We are pleased with the tremendous response and confidence that investors have in Emirates, and will continue our strategy to maintain a diverse portfolio of financing sources.”
Emirates Airline’s $913 million Sukuk listed on Nasdaq Dubai on April 1, 2015. It follows the airline’s listing of $1 billion Sukuk on the exchange on March 20, 2013.
The listing brings the total value of Sukuk listed on Dubai’s exchanges to $34.96 billion, reinforcing Dubai’s position as an international centre for Sukuk activity and underlining its growth as the global capital of the Islamic economy.
Emirates is the world’s biggest international carrier, the seventh largest airline in the world in terms of revenue, and the largest airline in the Middle East in terms of revenue, fleet size, and passengers carried.
Source: WAM
