Dubai Financial Market has announced the listing of dual currency bonds issued by the Chinese Development Bank, marking a significant move that enhances Dubai’s status as a strategic international hub for the issuance of fixed income instruments and cross-border investments.
The bonds are now listed on the Dubai Financial Market and have been added to the official registry of securities approved by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The issuance comprises two tranches: the first is valued at $500 million with a three-year maturity and a variable yield calculated by adding 30 basis points to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), while the second tranche is worth €500 million, also with a three-year term, offering a fixed rate of 2.25%. Moody’s has assigned both tranches a credit rating of A1, reflecting a high level of credit quality.
The issuance garnered significant interest from investors, particularly from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The euro-denominated tranche was oversubscribed by 15 times, which is the highest coverage ratio achieved by a Chinese financial institution in a single issuance. The dollar-denominated tranche saw a subscription coverage of three times, with the narrowest spread over the SOFR rate compared to similar issuances from Chinese banks.
The investor base was diversified, including banks, sovereign entities, mutual funds, and asset managers from prominent financial capitals such as Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Spain, and regions in the Middle East and Asia. Sovereign institutions and multilateral organizations accounted for over 30% of the allocation in the euro-denominated tranche.
In this context, Hamad Ali, CEO of the Dubai Financial Market, remarked, “We are thrilled to welcome the listing of the dual currency bonds from the Chinese Development Bank on Nasdaq Dubai. This important step reflects the depth of our relationships with leading Chinese financial institutions and reinforces Dubai’s status as a global financial center, showcasing international investors’ confidence in the advanced infrastructure that Nasdaq Dubai offers.”
This dual currency issuance is part of the bank’s strategy to diversify its foreign funding sources and expand its international investor base. Since resuming its offshore issuances in 2015, the Chinese Development Bank has raised approximately $42.5 billion through public and private issues in multiple currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, and HKD.
Nasdaq Dubai continues to solidify its position as a preferred platform for Chinese issuers, currently listing fixed income instruments valued at over $13.4 billion issued by leading institutions such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Ministry of Finance of China, and the Hong Kong government. The total value of debt instruments listed on Nasdaq Dubai now exceeds $136.2 billion.