Big Emirati issuers are ringing in the new year with fresh debt issuances — and they’re continuing a trend that was also evident last year as they look to diversify their capital, and that’s a shift away from vanilla bonds and towards more sophisticated, thematic instruments.

Emirates NBD eyes dual-tranche blue + green bond offering

Emirates NBD has kicked off a roadshow for a dual-tranche, USD-denominated bond offering made up of a five-year green bond tranche and a three-year blue bond, Zawya reports. Both are unsecured fixed-rate notes, and come as part of Emirates NBD’s USD 20 bn Euro Medium Term Note Program. They will be listed on Nasdaq Dubai and Euronext Dublin.

Blue bond? A blue bond is a type of debt instrument issued to finance projects that protect, restore, or sustainably manage oceans, marine ecosystems, and freshwater resources. These bonds fund initiatives such as marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, clean shipping, coastal resilience, and port decarbonization. DP World was the first to issue a blue bond in the region in 2024, followed by First Abu Dhabi Bank last year.

ADVISORS- The bank, rated A1 by Moody’s and A+ by Fitch with a stable outlook, has mandated a joint team of lead managers and bookrunners, including Citi, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Mizuho, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered Bank. Citi and Emirates NBD Capital are also serving as joint sustainability structurers.

Aldar Properties taps the bond market again with a hybrid offering

Aldar Properties is sounding out the market for a benchmark hybrid debt offering, as it lines up an issuance of USD-denominated resettable subordinated notes, Zawya reports. The Reg S conventional notes are set to carry a 30.25-year tenor, and have been assigned a Baa3 rating from Moody’s.

The Abu Dhabi-based developer tapped a roster of regional and international banks to arrange global investor calls and a series of fixed-income meetings as of yesterday.

Aldar had close to AED 30 bn in liquidity as of last September, after a string of capital raising last year, including a USD 500 mn green sukuk in March and a record AED 9 bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility in January.

ADVISORS- Citigroup is acting as sole structuring advisor, global coordinator, and joint bookrunner, alongside Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan, Mashreq, Rakbank, and Standard Chartered.

**This story was amended to remove mention of Bank of China as one of the bookrunners, as well as the 7.25 non-call period. 

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