UAE Opens Second Retail T-Sukuk With a Five-Year Tenor
The Ministry of Finance lifted the target for the new issue to AED 100 million after the first retail sukuk drew orders close to nine times its initial size.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
The UAE Ministry of Finance has begun accepting subscriptions for a second sovereign retail T-Sukuk. The new issue runs for five years, longer than the two-year debut, and carries a minimum subscription of AED 1,000, or $272.26.
The ministry raised the target for the offering to AED 100 million as demand built. The instrument sits inside the Sovereign Retail T-Sukuk Program, which issues Shariah-compliant investments carrying the full backing of the UAE Government. According to the ministry, the program is meant to encourage long-term saving and investment and to widen participation in government debt denominated in dirhams. The entry point of AED 1,000 keeps a single ticket within reach of individual savers rather than institutions.
Distribution channels
Subscriptions are being taken through the Dubai Financial Market's eIPO platform, the iVestor app, the DFM app and digital channels run by approved receiving banks. Emirates NBD acts as lead receiving bank, working alongside Emirates Islamic, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Ajman Bank, Mashreq, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Once allocation and settlement are complete, the sukuk will be listed on Nasdaq Dubai, where holders can trade it on the secondary market before maturity.
Minister points to savings goal
Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said the program gives UAE nationals and residents direct access to Shariah-compliant sovereign investment instruments while supporting long-term financial planning and saving.
The ministry ties the initiative to the objectives of the UAE's Year of Family 2026, and to wider work on developing domestic capital markets and broadening the investor base.
What the first sale drew
The inaugural retail sukuk, a two-year instrument, paid an annual profit rate of 4.30%, with returns distributed every six months. It drew $121.2 million (AED 445 million) in subscription orders against an initial target of $13.6 million (AED 50 million) — close to nine times the amount sought.
Smaller tickets dominated the order book: 76% of demand came from subscriptions of AED 10,000 or less. UAE nationals made up 72% of investors, while subscribers under 25 and women together accounted for 45% of the total.
Allocation and settlement on that first issue finished before it listed on Nasdaq Dubai on July 2, 2026, the day secondary trading began.
The ministry says the second sale builds on that demand and uses digital subscription channels to make sovereign investment easier to reach. The profit rate on the five-year issue will be announced on September 22, 2026.
