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Dubai Government Sets Up $6.5Billion Medium-Term Note Programme

The sale of Islamic bonds and those that don’t comply with Muslim banking rules may take place as soon as next week, said the investors who didn’t want to be identified as the meetings are private. Dubai is targeting investors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The offering is separate from a $10 billion fund-raising program, which is part of a $20 billion support fund that the Dubai government set up for state-related companies.

The bonds include a $4 billion euro-note programme, according to a prospectus seen by Bloomberg. Dubai also established a $2.5 billion program to sell Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to the two investors.

Dubai doesn’t plan to tap the US market for the bond issue, which will not be rated, as Dubai tries to reassure investors. Government debt totalled Dh71.3 billion($19 billion) at the end of September, according to the offer document. It has also provided guarantees for Dh9 billion of loans to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, of which Dh8.1 billion was outstanding at the end of September.

Dubai and its state-related companies borrowed more than $80 billion until last year, to transform the economy into a tourist and financial services hub. It raised the first $10 billion as part of the $20 billion bond programme in February by selling debt to the country’s Central Bank. —