The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Finance has announced a new and exciting financial project. For the first time, they launched a seven-year “Islamic Treasury Sukuk,” a special type of Islamic bond. This new bond is worth 550 million United Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED), about 150 million US dollars. The Central Bank of the UAE helped manage and issue this project.
This seven-year bond is the longest one the Gulf major has ever offered in this programme. The main goal is to make the country’s local currency, the dirham, much stronger in the global financial market.
Many investors really wanted to buy these bonds. In fact, the demand was huge. Investors offered to purchase these new bonds for 3.1 billion AED. Compared to what the government actually sold, this sum is over six times greater. This robust demand demonstrates people’s faith in the Islamic financial industry and their confidence in the UAE economy.
The larger auction that took place in February 2026 included this new seven-year bond. During this period, the government sold bonds totalling 1.1 billion AED. One set of bonds will expire in May 2030, while the other will expire in February 2033. Eight big primary dealers joined the auction. Together, they made total offers worth 5.88 billion AED.
The prices for the bonds were very good for the market. The profit rate for the 2030 bonds was 3.53%, and the rate for the 2033 bonds was 3.779%. These bonds are now listed on Nasdaq Dubai, making it easy for investors to buy and sell these financial products later. Overall, this programme gives investors safe choices and supports the long-term growth of the UAE economy.
The February 2026 issuance comes against the backdrop of a record-setting performance by the Gulf nation’s debt capital market, which, as per the Fitch Ratings, surpassed USD 325 billion in outstanding debt by the 2025- end, representing a 9.3% year-on-year increase. By 2026-end, the market is projected to surpass USD 350 billion. The ratings agency further noted that the UAE registered the highest-ever annual sukuk issuance in 2025, with dollar sukuk issuance surging by more than 130% year-on-year.
On the other hand, as per S&P Global Ratings, the UAE ranked as the world’s second-largest dollar sukuk issuer in 2025 and the third-largest issuer of ESG-linked sukuk globally.
GCC countries, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, accounted for 45% of the total global sukuk issuance in 2025, as the total figure reached USD 264.8 billion in 2025, up from USD 234.9 billion in 2024. S&P now sees further growth to USD 270–USD 280 billion in 2026, driven by factors like lower oil prices, higher financing needs, and potential Federal Reserve rate cuts.