UAE tops regional green bond league tables with $10.7 billion

UAE tops regional green bond league tables with $10.7 billion

ABU DHABI/ WAM The United Arab Emirates topped regional green bond league tables, with sales reaching US$10.7 billion, up nearly 170 percent and accounting for approximately 45 percent of regional totals. Data from Bloomberg’s Capital Markets League Tables has revealed that in 2023, annual issuances of green social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked bonds (GSSB) in the ...

ABU DHABI/ WAM

The United Arab Emirates topped regional green bond league tables, with sales reaching US$10.7 billion, up nearly 170 percent and accounting for approximately 45 percent of regional totals.

Data from Bloomberg’s Capital Markets League Tables has revealed that in 2023, annual issuances of green social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked bonds (GSSB) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) hit a new record of US$24 billion, an increase of 155 percent.

This increase was driven primarily by growth in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which accounted for 77 percent of total regional issuances.

The year in which the UAE hosted the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) was notable for the large number of debut sustainable debt issuances from the country’s corporates and government entities, which amounted to US$7.95 billion in total.

The 11 debut green issuers included bonds or sukuk from DP World sukuk (US$1.5 billion),