The world's largest airline in terms of international traffic, Emirates Airline would begin holding meetings with investors for the possible sale of Islamic bonds called sukuks. The plan has been confirmed by three different individuals familiar with the move.
The Dubai state owned air carrier has engaged the services of Citigroup Inc, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC and Emirates NBD Capital Ltd to manage the meetings. The denomination of the sukuk bonds is in US dollars.
Islamic bonds from Dubai have had a good start since 2006 as the government is taking steps to create a global hub for Shariah compliant financing in the city-state emirate. Dubai based issuers have sold three times the volume from 2012, reaching US$4.6 billion as the emirate's debt costs dropped in half of the average for notes being Shariah compliant.
The profit for the airline dropped to 2.31 billion dirhams or US$629 million in the year ending March 2012 due to rising fuel costs. The previous year, the profits were at 5.95 billion dirhams.
Join the Conversation