Dubai Bank plans to sell about $500 million in Islamic bonds this year as part of a $5 billion notes programme to finance growth as it looks to become a global Islamic lender by 2013.
The unlisted bank, a unit of Dubai Banking Group (DBG), could sell its first tranche in the next "couple of months", depending on market conditions, Chief Executive Officer Salaam al-Shaksy told Reuters on September 24.
The Islamic lender, which appointed Swiss investment bank UBS and Standard Chartered as lead arrangers, had received a good response from potential investors for the sukuk sale, Shaksy said.
"We are talking about an Islamic bank sukuk, which has not been issued for quite some time," Shaksy said when asked whether he was concerned about difficulties in the regional debt markets. The Islamic bonds, or sukuk, would be listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Dubai International Financial Exchange, the lender said in an earlier statement.
"This is a historic milestone for Dubai Bank, as we prepare to fund an aggressive plan for growth in retail and corporate sharia-compliant banking services," Shaksy said. Shaksy said the first tranche would be used to finance some of the asset growth in the bank. The bank was also considering Islamic loans in addition to the bond programme.
"The first tranche will depend on market conditions. Hopefully in the next couple of months and will probably be about half a billion dollars," he said. Islamic bonds comply with Islam's ban on lending on interest. Bondholders are instead paid returns derived from underlying assets, such as rent from real estate.
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