Day: May 16, 2023

DUBAI, U.A.E: Mohamed Al Hussaini Rings Market-Opening Bell to Celebrate Listing ‘Islamic Treasury Sukuk’ on Nasdaq Dubai

Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, rang the market-opening bell to celebrate and mark listing the domestic Dirhams Islamic Treasury Sukuk (T-Sukuk) on Nasdaq Dubai.

The United Arab Emirates, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) as the issuer and in collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) as the issuing and paying agent, has announced launching dirham-denominated Islamic Treasury Sukuk (T-Sukuk), with a benchmark auction size of AED1.1 billion.

The launching of Dirham-denominated Islamic Treasury Sukuk (T-Sukuk) includes a series of issuances, in order to attract a new category of investors and support the sustainability of economic growth.

Total issuance of AED1.1 billion

The issuance of T-Sukuk is aimed at enhancing the UAE’s economic competitiveness by providing high-quality Islamic assets at competitive prices. This will support the Central Bank of the UAE in managing liquidity within the banking sector and boosts the size of financial investments, which will reflect positively on the country’s economy, investment environment, per capita income, and gross national income.

The bell-ringing ceremony was attended by a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of the UAE, Nasdaq Dubai, and the CEOs of the eight banks that were onboarded as primary dealers, in addition to other senior officials from various relevant authorities.

The inaugural issuance of the Dirham-denominated Islamic Treasury Sukuk programme witnessed a strong demand through the eight primary bank dealers, with bids received worth AED8.3 billion, and an oversubscription by 7.6 times.

The strong demand was across both tranches, with a final allocation of AED550 million for the two-year tranche, and AED550 million for the three-year tranche, with a total issuance of AED1.1 billion. Other tranches of Islamic Treasury Sukuk will be issued with various tenures of up to five years initially, followed by a 10-year sukuk at a later date.

Reaffirming UAE’s position in Islamic economy

Al Hussaini noted that issuing the T-Sukuk contributes to expanding the scope of Islamic banking and is one of the most important tools for managing monetary policy and liquidity to finance development programmes and projects.

The T-Sukuks are Sharia-compliant financial certificates for trading in the secondary market along with the main distributors, reflecting the current return on investment. These sukuk will also contribute to stimulating the securities market and strengthening the base of Islamic securities, providing safe and rewarding investment alternatives, and attracting new segments of local and international investors.

He emphasised that the success of the first auction is another testament to the UAE’s creditworthiness as one of the most advanced and competitive economies in the world, reaffirming its position as a leading investment hub in the field of the Islamic economy.

Al Hussaini said, “The issuance of Islamic Treasury Sukuk is a new step towards achieving the comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development objectives of the UAE. It contributes to the development of the financial market and the investment environment in the country by attracting financial investments and rejuvenating the local financial and banking sector to diversify funding sources, which cements the UAE’s position as a global hub for the Islamic economy.”

Efficiency of UAE’s financial sector

Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said, “The T-Sukuk programme’s first issuance, denominated in UAE Dirhams, reinforces the UAE’s competitive position as a developed global financial centre.

The programme has succeeded in diversifying financial markets activities, enhancing infrastructure to support Sharia-compliant investment options and alternatives, and strengthening the resilience and stability of the financial system. This milestone will also support in bolstering financial investments and promoting greater confidence among local and international investors in the UAE’s financial system, leading to further strategic growth across the sector and fortifying the UAE’s role in the global Islamic economy.”

He added, “The remarkable success of the first auction for the issuance of T-Sukuk denominated in UAE Dirhams is a testament to the soundness of the financial and economic policies, the robust creditworthiness, and the efficiency of the UAE’s financial sector. It also supports the UAE’s stimulating investment environment globally to diversify investment and financial alternatives and continue sustainable growth underpinned by future visions and plans. We are pleased to have partnered with the Ministry of Finance in enhancing the UAE’s financial markets and improving the investment environment in the country.”

Dubai as global centre for Sukuk listings

Hamed Ali, CEO of Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai, said, “The issuance of the T-Sukuk is an important development for the UAE capital markets attracting diversified investment categories to the country and providing an important investment tool for Islamic banking. The listing today further strengthens Dubai’s position as one of the largest centres for Sukuk listings globally with US$77.67 billion total value of Sukuk listed in Dubai.

This opens the path for regional and international investors to strengthen their links with the UAE government as well as to expand their investment options in the UAE. At Nasdaq Dubai, our mission supports the UAE Central Bank’s ambitious strategy to develop a strong fixed-income market in the UAE by providing investors with investment opportunities in sovereign issuances and a more effective yield curve gauge in debt instruments.”

The Ministry of Finance onboarded eight banks, namely Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB), Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), HSBC, Mashreq, and Standard Chartered as Primary Dealers to participate in the T-Sukuk primary market auction and to actively develop the secondary market.

source/content: wam.ae (headline edited)

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)

PALESTINE: May 15th, 2023 – United Nations (UN) for the Historic FIRST Time Marks the Anniversary of Palestinian ‘Nakba’

  • Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke at UN meeting to commemorate the forced displacement of Palestinians when Israel was founded 75 years ago
  • He called for an independent Palestinian state, full membership of the UN, and for Israel authorities to be held accountable for breaches of international law

As the UN on Monday officially commemorated the Palestinian Nakba, or “Catastrophe,” for the first time, President Mahmoud Abbas told representatives of member states that his people have the right to live in freedom and dignity in their own independent nation.


He also called for Palestine to be granted full membership of the UN; it currently holds the status of non-member observer state, which was granted in November 2012.


And he urged the organization to suspend Israel’s membership of the UN if it continues to ignore UN resolutions condemning the occupation of Palestinian territories and the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law.


Abbas was speaking during a meeting of the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, the word Palestinians use to describe the mass displacement from their land when the state of Israel was established in 1948.
Between 1947 and 1949, about 750,000 Palestinians from a population of 1.9 million were forced out of their towns and villages, which were taken over by Jewish immigrants. Most of the displaced Palestinians fled to neighboring countries, where they settled as refugees.


The UN adopted a resolution this year to officially commemorate the Nakba for the first time, although 30 nations voted against it. Addressing the representatives of the many UN member states that attended Monday’s meeting, Abbas demanded that Israel and its main state supporters, namely the UK and US, acknowledge their responsibility for the Nakba, apologize to the Palestinian people and compensate them.


He said the Palestinian people have accepted Israel’s right to exist on the 78 percent of historically Palestinian land that makes up the state of Israel, and now demand only that they be allowed to establish their own state on the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel occupied those and other Arab territories during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.


Abbas reiterated that he is not opposed to the Jewish people or to Judaism, but rather “those who occupy my land, regardless of their beliefs.” He added that it is “the Israeli government that is responsible for the Nakba and for the killing, displacement and destruction” of Palestinians.


He called on the international community to hold Israeli authorities responsible for their actions in the occupied Palestinian territories and violations of international law.


“The international community should not accept, or stand idly by, the false claims of Israel,” said Abbas, and “Israel shouldn’t remain a state above the law.”
He said Palestinians will pursue legal challenges at the International Criminal Court over Israel’s violations of international law and war crimes committed against the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.


He urged the UN to grant Palestine full membership because it is qualified to be one, and chastised the organization for not already having done so.


Senegalese diplomat, Cheikh Niang, the chairperson of the special committee, opened the meeting by reiterating its strong support for the rights of the Palestinian people, and calling for the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
He described the Nakba as the “epicenter” of Palestinian suffering, and condemned recent Israeli attacks on Gaza in which scores of Palestinians have been killed or wounded.


“The death of civilians, Palestinians and Israelis alike, is unacceptable and we urge all parties involved to end the hostilities,” he said.


“The Nakba, and the suffering of generations of Palestinians, is a story rarely told in history books, too often forgotten.”


Representatives of the African Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and a number of civil society groups expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state.


They also acknowledged that the Nakba continues, as Palestinians remain under Israeli occupation and continue to suffer under similar conditions to those to which they were first subjected 75 years ago.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas speaks during a high-level event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba at the United Nations headquarters in New York on May 15, 2023. (AFP)

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PALESTINE