Noor Bank finalizes sukuk pricing

Noor Bank priced its first five-year, $500 million Sukuk on Wednesday with a final issuing pricing of 2.788 percent.

The bank said this is the lowest issuer price that has been awarded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A sukuk is an Islamic form of a bond that would normally be given by a governmental body. The main difference is that the purchaser of a sukuk also would take any gains or losses based on how the sukuk performs, while a government bond only transfers ownership.

"The issuance is a remarkable milestone for Noor Bank and is the result of our diligent efforts that have seen the bank register stellar financial performance in the past few years," Bank CEO Hussain Al Qemzi said. "The issuance has been well received globally on the back of demand from a diverse investor base. Despite being a debut issuer, we have not only been able to print this Sukuk at the lowest price ever paid by any UAE-based sukuk issuer, but have also been able to achieve one of the most diversified distributions outside [the] Middle East, thus in fact establishing a pricing as well as distribution diversity benchmark for others to follow in future."

The bank stated that interest in the assets is apparent and a large group of investors are looking to buy into the Noor Bank-issued sukuk from around the world including Europe and Asian countries alongside those in the Middle East.