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Finance

More issuers turn to Dubai listings as yuan bonds gain traction in Middle East

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More Chinese and local issuers could tap Dubai to list debt and equity securities, signalling confidence in the Chinese economy and the deepening economic corridor between China and the Middle East, according to the CEO of Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
The momentum would build on Emirates NBD Bank’s recent offshore yuan bond of 1 billion yuan (US$143 million), listed on Nasdaq Dubai, marking the lender’s return to the dim sum bond market and enabling global investors to access yuan-denominated bonds outside China, according to a press release in October.

The deal exemplified “the strength and interest in the dim sum bond market outside Hong Kong, as well as the interest and appetite in Dubai for China-related products and issuances”, Mark Steward, the top regulator of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), told the Post.

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“There is a very healthy demand, and that demand is being realised by a local bank,” he said. “It’s symbolic of the growing strength of the economic corridor between China and the Middle East.”

Steward said the issuance demonstrated investor confidence in the Chinese economy and the activity surrounding yuan-based funding and investment needs. The 1 billion yuan bond, with a 2.4 per cent coupon maturing in 2028, also pointed to a broader diversification away from the US dollar, he added.

The DIFC hosts Chinese banks that have been active in financial services and trade financing, especially those related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: Shutterstock
The DIFC hosts Chinese banks that have been active in financial services and trade financing, especially those related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: Shutterstock

Dubai’s debt market was robust though its equity space was still catching up with Hong Kong, said Steward, a former official at Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) who assumed his role at DFSA in May. DFSA regulates Nasdaq Dubai, a financial exchange that lists shares, derivatives, Islamic bonds, conventional bonds and real estate investment trusts.

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