Dubai-based private developer Binghatti on Thursday listed its inaugural $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) sukuk on the Nasdaq Dubai, becoming the first real estate benchmark dollar-denominated sukuk from Mena region in 2024.

The three-year Islamic bond was oversubscribed 2.1 times, reaching $621 million and priced competitively at 9.625 per cent.

Muhammad Binghatti, CEO of Binghatti, said demand for the sukuk was more than expected, exceeding 200 per cent of subscriptions.

“More interestingly, 20 per cent of the orders were international. Usually, bankers say it’s five per cent for a debut sukuk. This shows the trust that many of these institutional investors have in us and capital markets towards Dubai,” he said.

“As a developer, we like to have flexibility in terms of cash injections into the company. Today, we already have in the Escrow account more than 3 times the sukuk we issued. This is a form of financing where we will have the flexibility to utilise these funds as growth working capital and also working capital for existing projects that we have sold because the gestation period of these large uber-luxury projects is 2.5-3 years, and some of them are almost sold out. So, it makes sense only to build these quickly and hand them over. The more liquidity you have, the faster you build,” added Binghatti.

Fitch Ratings recently awarded Binghatti Holding a B+ credit rating with a positive outlook, underscoring the company’s financial strength and market confidence.

Muhammad Binghatti joined by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), rang the market opening bell at Nasdaq Dubai to commemorate the listing.

“This listing by Binghatti Holding not only represents our continuous endeavours to position Dubai as a global hub for Sukuk financing but also reinforces our steadfast commitment to delivering financial solutions to companies in the region. The increasing interest in the Islamic financial market is a testament to the evolving and robust financial ecosystem offered through Nasdaq Dubai,” Ali said.

Boosting a total debt issuance value of $131 billion, comprising $43 billion in bond listings and $88 billion in Sukuk issuances, Nasdaq Dubai solidified its position as a leading exchange for fixed-income listings and the prominent destination for debt issuance.

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