Nasdaq Dubai Lists ICBC’s USD 713 Million Dual-Currency Green Bonds: USD 300 Million at SOFR Plus 35 bp and CNH 2.8 Billion Under the China-Arab States Renewable Energy Theme

2026-09-04

On 3 September 2026 Nasdaq Dubai welcomed the listing of USD 713 million of dual-currency green bonds issued by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) through its Dubai (DIFC) Branch under the bank’s USD 20 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme. The issue consists of two three-year tranches themed “China-Arab States Renewable Energy Cooperation”: USD 300 million of floating-rate notes priced at SOFR plus 35 basis points and CNH 2.8 billion (about USD 413 million) of fixed-rate notes. The dollar tranche was 3.8 times oversubscribed with an order book of USD 1.2 billion, the offshore renminbi tranche 3.5 times with orders of CNH 10.0 billion. Proceeds go to carbon neutrality, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects. With this admission ICBC has USD 4.24 billion of bonds outstanding on Nasdaq Dubai across four issuances, and the exchange’s total outstanding debt has passed USD 143.9 billion, including USD 98.4 billion of sukuk and USD 45.4 billion of bonds. The facts below come from the Nasdaq Dubai announcement distributed by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on 3 September 2026, the exchange’s earlier press releases on ICBC listings (28 November 2023 and 12 June 2025), its market reviews for 2025 and the first half of 2026, and the deal mandate reported by Zawya (LSEG) on 11 June 2026.

What was listed on 3 September 2026

The announcement is a listing notice, not a pricing notice: the bonds were marketed in June 2026, and the bell-ringing ceremony on 3 September marked their admission to Nasdaq Dubai. The exchange published the following:

• Issuer. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, acting through ICBC Dubai (DIFC) Branch, the bank’s branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre. ICBC has been present in the DIFC since October 2008, when ICBC (Middle East) Limited opened under DFSA regulation as the first Chinese bank in the Middle East market.
• Programme. ICBC’s USD 20 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme, the same programme used for the bank’s Nasdaq Dubai listings of 2023 and 2025.
• Theme. “China-Arab States Renewable Energy Cooperation” themed green bonds. Proceeds are allocated to carbon neutrality, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects; the mandate notice specified financing or refinancing of eligible green assets under the renewable energy category of ICBC’s Green Bond Framework.
• Tranche 1. USD 300 million three-year floating-rate notes priced at SOFR plus 35 basis points.
• Tranche 2. CNH 2.8 billion three-year fixed-rate notes, approximately USD 413 million.
• Demand. The dollar tranche was oversubscribed 3.8 times with an order book of USD 1.2 billion; the CNH tranche was oversubscribed 3.5 times with an order book of CNH 10.0 billion. Demand came from international and regional investors across both tranches.
• Ceremony. Zeng Jixin, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the UAE, rang the market-opening bell alongside Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
• ICBC’s position. USD 4.24 billion of outstanding bonds across four issuances on Nasdaq Dubai after this listing.

Liu Hua, General Manager of ICBC Dubai (DIFC) Branch, said the listing “reflects ICBC’s confidence and commitment to the UAE capital market” and that, “as a pioneer in green financing, ICBC has significantly contributed to environmental sustainability by extending green financial solutions, particularly within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative”. Hamed Ali said the listing “reflects the continued connection between China and global capital markets, reinforcing Dubai’s role as a primary international destination for cross-border capital raising and sustainable finance”, and that “the strong demand across both the US Dollar and Renminbi tranches highlights the growing investor appetite for high-quality ESG instruments issued through our platform”.

The two tranches side by side

The gap between the initial guidance of SOFR plus 90 basis points and the final SOFR plus 35 basis points is 55 basis points, a measure of how far the order book allowed the bank to tighten the dollar coupon. The issuer, ICBC Dubai (DIFC), is rated A1 (stable) by Moody’s and A (stable) by S&P. The mandate notice of 11 June 2026 listed ICBC (Asia), ABC International, China Securities International, Credit Agricole CIB, HSBC, Mizuho and Standard Chartered Bank as joint global coordinators, with a syndicate of 18 further joint lead managers that included Emirates NBD Capital, the only UAE bank in the group; HSBC acted as billing and delivery bank and Credit Agricole CIB as green structuring advisor.

From mandate to bell: the timeline of the deal

ICBC on Nasdaq Dubai: three listing rounds since 2023

The September 2026 listing is the third ICBC green bond package that Nasdaq Dubai has celebrated with a bell ceremony in under three years:

The pattern is consistent: ICBC funds its international book through overseas branches, labels the notes green under its framework and lists them in Dubai alongside Hong Kong and London. The Dubai branch has now issued both renminbi paper (CNH 3 billion in 2025, CNH 2.8 billion in 2026) and dollar paper (USD 300 million in 2026) out of the DIFC.

Chinese issuers and Dubai’s debt market in numbers

ICBC is not the only Chinese state bank using the exchange. Nasdaq Dubai’s own record of ESG listings includes the world’s first Belt and Road partner themed green notes by Bank of China (17 October 2023), a USD 600 million green bond by China Construction Bank’s DIFC branch (15 January 2024) and a USD 400 million green bond by Bank of China (10 September 2024); the exchange’s 2025 review lists China Development Bank among the year’s debut issuers, and Dubai Financial Market signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 20 November 2023. The market these issuers are joining looks like this:

The sukuk side of the market is covered in our articles on the UAE Islamic Finance Strategy to 2031, which targets Islamic banking assets of AED 2.56 trillion and sukuk listings of more than AED 660 billion domestically and AED 395 billion internationally, and on the first retail T-Sukuk listed on Nasdaq Dubai in 2026. On the equity side, Dubai Financial Market opened 59,108 new investor accounts in the first eight months of 2026 (see our DFM investor accounts article). Green and transition labels are spreading among local banks too: Emirates NBD published the UAE’s first transition finance framework in August 2026 (see our article on the framework).

What it means for companies in the UAE

A USD 713 million bank bond is an institutional instrument, and a trading or consulting company will not buy it directly. The practical consequences are indirect but real:

• Renminbi in Dubai. The CNH 2.8 billion tranche, following the CNH 3 billion notes of 2025, adds to the pool of offshore renminbi instruments issued and listed in the DIFC. For a company invoicing Chinese suppliers or customers in renminbi, this is the infrastructure behind the CNH accounts, hedging and trade finance offered by Chinese and UAE banks in Dubai.
• Chinese banks as counterparties. ICBC and China Construction Bank issue from DIFC branches, and Bank of China has listed two green bonds on the exchange since 2023. A company with China-linked trade flows can add one of these banks to its banking set-up, subject to the usual compliance file. Opening an account with any UAE bank still requires a licence, a clear business model and a documented source of funds.
• Green labels are becoming standard. The proceeds of these bonds go to renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, the sectors in which the UAE and China are co-investing. Contractors, engineering firms and equipment suppliers working on solar, wind, grid and storage projects in the Gulf are the ultimate borrowers of green bond money, and lenders increasingly ask them for project-level environmental data.
• The listing venue is in the UAE. Nasdaq Dubai is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) inside the DIFC. A UAE company that grows to the size of a bond issuer has a domestic exchange with 43% international issuers, a USD 20 billion programme precedent from ICBC and a record of 60 debt listings in 2025.

Checklist for a company that wants to work with Chinese capital or Chinese banks in the UAE:

• Decide the currency of the trade relationship (USD, AED or CNH) and ask the bank which of them it can hold, convert and hedge for you.
• Prepare the corporate file before approaching a Chinese bank in the DIFC: trade licence, ownership chart, contracts with Chinese counterparties, six to twelve months of bank statements.
• If the business is in renewable energy or sustainable infrastructure, collect the documentation that green lenders require: project descriptions, expected emissions savings and reporting commitments.
• Keep corporate tax and VAT records in AED for every foreign currency transaction: amounts in other currencies are converted at the Central Bank of the UAE rate for the books and the tax returns.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital works with founders and companies entering the UAE, including trading, engineering and investment businesses with Chinese and Asian partners. We handle company setup on the mainland and in UAE free zones, including the choice of jurisdiction and licence activities for trading, project and holding structures; corporate bank account opening, with the compliance file prepared in advance and multi-currency needs such as CNH discussed with the bank before the application; and work visas and residence permits for the founders and the team. Bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax filings are handled by licensed accounting firms from our partner network.

Conclusion

On 3 September 2026 ICBC added USD 713 million of dual-currency green bonds to Nasdaq Dubai: USD 300 million of three-year floating-rate notes at SOFR plus 35 basis points and CNH 2.8 billion of three-year fixed-rate notes, with order books of USD 1.2 billion and CNH 10.0 billion. The bank now has USD 4.24 billion of bonds outstanding on the exchange, whose total listed debt has passed USD 143.9 billion. For a company in the UAE the relevant facts are the growing offshore renminbi market in the DIFC, the presence of Chinese state banks as potential counterparties and the spread of green finance labels into the projects that UAE contractors and suppliers actually build.

FAQ

What green bonds did ICBC list on Nasdaq Dubai in September 2026?

On 3 September 2026 Nasdaq Dubai welcomed USD 713 million of dual-currency green bonds issued by ICBC Dubai (DIFC) Branch under ICBC’s USD 20 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme: USD 300 million of three-year floating-rate notes at SOFR plus 35 basis points and CNH 2.8 billion (about USD 413 million) of three-year fixed-rate notes. The bonds carry the theme “China-Arab States Renewable Energy Cooperation” and fund carbon neutrality, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects.

How strong was investor demand for the ICBC green bonds?

The dollar tranche was oversubscribed 3.8 times with an order book of USD 1.2 billion, and the offshore renminbi tranche 3.5 times with orders of CNH 10.0 billion. The dollar coupon was tightened from initial guidance of SOFR plus 90 basis points area at the mandate on 11 June 2026 to a final SOFR plus 35 basis points.

How much ICBC debt is listed on Nasdaq Dubai in total?

After the September 2026 listing ICBC has USD 4.24 billion of outstanding bonds across four issuances on Nasdaq Dubai. Earlier ceremonies marked USD 2.03 billion of green bonds in November 2023 and USD 1.72 billion in June 2025, when the exchange described ICBC as its largest green bond issuer, its leading Chinese issuer and its leading renminbi bond issuer.

How big is Nasdaq Dubai’s debt market?

As of 3 September 2026 total outstanding debt listed on Nasdaq Dubai exceeds USD 143.9 billion, including USD 98.4 billion of sukuk and USD 45.4 billion of bonds, with ESG-related listings of USD 27.5 billion. In the first half of 2026 the exchange recorded 33 fixed income listings worth USD 13.8 billion, 43% of them from international issuers, after a record USD 30.6 billion across 60 issuances in 2025.