UAE developers tap bond market as real estate boom accelerates
Property developers in the UAE are raising billions through bonds and private credit to take advantage of the ongoing real estate boom, as banks tighten lending to private developers.
Dollar bond and sukuk issuances have grown more than 12 times to $6 billion since 2021, Bloomberg reports.
Heavyweight developers Emaar, Aldar and DAMAC, as well as emerging names like Sharjah’s Arada, have been regularly issuing Islamic bonds as they compete to buy prime land.
The rise in issuances has seen maturities due by 2030 grow to about $8 billion and some analysts are now flagging risks from the boom-time spending.
Global Islamic finance assets expected to reach $9.7 trillion
Global Islamic finance assets are projected to soar by more than 60% over the next four years to $9.7 trillion, driven by gains in banking, bonds and insurance markets.
According to a study by the London Stock Exchange and the Islamic Corp. for the Development of the Private Sector, the sector has been growing by an average 10% annual rate, Arab News reports.
The report says Iran, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia together hold roughly $4.3 trillion in Islamic finance assets, or about 72% of the total.
It says the U.K. has emerged as a key hub for Islamic finance, particularly in the sale of sustainable sukuk bonds.
