Dubai
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Shari’ah-compliant bank in the UAE, has postponed a planned issuance of US dollar-denominated Sukuk due to market conditions resulting from the new coronavirus outbreak. The potential deal is said to have received good response from investors while it was being marketed, but volatility in the debt markets as the coronavirus outbreak intensifies would have increased the Islamic bond profit rate. DIB planned to raise the financing—likely to be $750 million—on 26 February 2020, but decided to wait for better market conditions, reported Reuters.
Fund managers said that a rise in regional bond spreads since the beginning of the year suggests the impact of coronavirus outbreak on global economic growth may translate into higher funding costs for Middle East debt issuers, potentially curbing new borrowing.—Reuters
