Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank (EDB), on Tuesday rang Nasdaq Dubai’s market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of a $750 million bond.

The listing announcement event was attended by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Deputy CEO of Dubai Financial Market (DFM), as well as senior executives from both sides.

Al Naqbi said, “The successful second issuance of our $750 million bond issue, which was oversubscribed four times, reflects the global and local investor confidence in our strategy to support UAE’s economic diversification plans.” The programme will be fundamental to support individuals, SMEs, and corporates across priority industrial sectors in the UAE to build a knowledge-based economy, he added.

The five-year bond issuance received strong demand from investors, as 34 per cent of appetite came from Mena markets, 36 per cent from European markets, 28 per cent from Asian markets and 2 per cent from US offshore market.

Ali, in turn, said that these transactions, including the new bond listing from EDB, indicate their deep confidence in the robust listing framework of Nasdaq Dubai in line with the requirements of prominent corporations and investors. The issuance also underlines corporations’ commitment to playing a pivotal role in financing economic development.

The EDB bonds have been listed on Nasdaq Dubai on 15th June 2021, reinforcing Dubai’s leading status as the largest listing venue in the Middle East for $ denominated debt listings, with a total value of $98.5 billion.