{"id":103052,"date":"2025-04-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/uae-set-to-become-the-most-active-debt-issuer-among-ems-this-year-fitch\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T00:00:00","slug":"uae-set-to-become-the-most-active-debt-issuer-among-ems-this-year-fitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2025\/04\/28\/uae-set-to-become-the-most-active-debt-issuer-among-ems-this-year-fitch\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE set to become the most active debt issuer among EMs this year -Fitch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UAE\u2019s debt capital market (DCM) expanded in 1Q 2025<\/strong>, setting the stage for what Fitch Ratings expects to be the most active among emerging markets globally, particularly when it comes to sukuk, it said in a note<\/a>. The UAE maintained its position as the second-largest DCM in the GCC and the fourth-largest emerging market USD debt issuer (excluding China) in 1Q 2025, with the DCM expanding 8.3% y-o-y to USD 309 bn, and issuances surging by 109% y-o-y to USD 29.1 bn. <\/p>\n

The country\u2019s sukuk issuances increased by 22.6% y-o-y to USD 4.9 bn in 1Q<\/strong> 2025, while bond issuances rose by 145%.<\/strong> UAE-based entities issued 6.5% of global outstanding sukuk by the end of 1Q 2025, with sukuk representing 18% of the country\u2019s total DCM outstanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

USD-denominated issuances dominated: <\/strong>Some 68.5% of issuances were denominated in USD. Meanwhile, AED debt issuances represent about a quarter of the UAE\u2019s DCM as of the end of the quarter, with the government focused on issuing treasury sukuk rather than bonds. However, AED-denominated issuances by UAE corporates and banks remain scarce, along with a lack of Islamic alternatives to AED treasury bills. <\/p>\n

As of the end of 1Q 2025, ESG debt outstanding topped USD 25 bn, marking a 30% jum<\/strong>p y-o-y. <\/strong>Sukuk led the charge, soaring more than 40%. <\/p>\n

But new issuance was not as lively: <\/strong>ESG debt issuance hit just USD 1.2 bn in 1Q \u2014 down 40.7% y-o-y \u2014 and it was all sukuk. Traditional ESG bonds? None were issued last quarter.<\/p>\n

Debt capital markets are expected to see continued strong issuance growth throughou<\/strong>t 2025, with projections for the market to expand to USD 350 bn in 2026. <\/strong>Growth drivers include funding diversification, upcoming debt maturities, project and infrastructure financing, regulatory reforms, and Islamic-finance ecosystem development. Fitch also expects Nasdaq Dubai to remain among the top listing centers globally for USD sukuk.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, higher tariffs could indirectly fuel greater DCM activity in the UAE<\/strong>, as weaker global demand driven by tariff-induced costs puts downward pressure on hydrocarbon prices<\/a>. However, tariffs are not expected to directly affect the credit profiles of the UAE or other GCC countries.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>The agency previously had a strong outlook for the UAE\u2019s debt capital markets in 2025, expecting it to reach USD 300 bn<\/a> this year and surpass USD 400 bn<\/a> over the next few years. Separately, the UAE has emerged as the world\u2019s top-performing sukuk market<\/a> since Trump\u2019s return to the White House, outpacing even the US, as investors look towards EMs with strong fundamentals for tariff-safe assets. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The market\u2019s issuances amount to USD 29.1 bn in the same quarter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1546],"tags":[1391,68,66],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-103052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-debt-watch","tag-debt","tag-debt-watch","tag-sukuk","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"bcc62dfb-99ff-442a-84a5-2ae759bd9c39","order":"6","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2025\/1\/2245.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"UAE set to become the most active debt issuer among EMs this year -Fitch","related_issue":[103042],"teaser":"The market\u2019s issuances amount to USD 29.1 bn in the same quarter","voice_url":"https:\/\/s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/ent.news\/audio\/2025\/4\/.e7a9d23e-3f00-45b2-a92e-bc3f53f704d0.mp3"},"yoast_head":"\nUAE set to become the most active debt issuer among EMs this year -Fitch - 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