10 September 2026
On 10 September 2026 Nasdaq Dubai announced the listing of a USD 1.75 billion three-year benchmark bond issued by the New Development Bank (NDB), the multilateral lender set up by the BRICS countries in 2015. The bond carries a 4.375% coupon and matures in 2029, the final order book exceeded USD 3.2 billion, and demand split 65% Asia Pacific, 32% Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 3% the Americas. With this security NDB now has USD 3.75 billion listed on the Dubai exchange under its USD 50 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme, and Nasdaq Dubai reports USD 143.9 billion of outstanding debt securities in total. One detail that most reports skip: the paper was not priced this week. NDB priced it on 16 July 2026 at SOFR plus 39 basis points, so what Dubai marked in September is the listing of a deal that was already done in the summer.
What exactly was listed
The instrument is a plain three-year senior benchmark bond, not a green, social or sustainability-labelled issue. It was sold under NDB’s USD 50 billion EMTN Programme, the framework that Nasdaq Dubai admitted in December 2025 and that is also on the official list of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and on the London Stock Exchange. The July bond is dual-listed in London and Dubai, exactly like the previous one.
Six banks ran the transaction as joint lead managers: Bank of China, Credit Agricole CIB, Daiwa Capital Markets, ICBC, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Investors that took the paper were banks (49%), central banks and official institutions (37%), hedge funds, brokers and others (12%), fund managers and corporations (2%).
Daopeng Fu, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of NDB, said the participation “demonstrates strong market confidence in the New Development Bank’s robust credit standing and its development mandate”. Hamed Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), said the listing “reflects the continued participation of supranationals in our fixed income market, with investors engaging across geographies”.
The number that matters: this is NDB’s second bond in Dubai, not its first
NDB came to Nasdaq Dubai in February 2026 with a USD 2 billion three-year Regulation S benchmark priced on 3 February, settled on 9 February and maturing on 9 February 2029. Put the two deals next to each other and the picture is more interesting than a single headline number.
| Parameter | February 2026 | July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | USD 2 billion | USD 1.75 billion |
| Tenor | 3 years | 3 years |
| Coupon | 4% annually | 4.375% |
| Spread disclosed | not published by NDB | SOFR plus 39 bp |
| Priced | 3 February 2026 | 16 July 2026 |
| Maturity | 9 February 2029 | 2029 |
| Order book | above USD 6.7 billion | above USD 3.2 billion |
| Oversubscription | about 3.35 times (our calculation) | 1.8 times (NDB figure) |
| Asia Pacific | 72% | 65% |
| EMEA | 23% | 32% |
| Americas | 5% | 3% |
| Joint lead managers | 7 banks | 6 banks |
Three things follow from the table, and all three are arithmetic on the bank’s own published numbers rather than opinion.
The deal got smaller and more expensive. Five months apart, for the same three-year tenor, NDB raised USD 250 million less and paid a coupon 37.5 basis points higher. That is not a Dubai story, it is a funding-cost story: the same borrower, the same maturity, a worse print.
Cover roughly halved. February drew more than USD 6.7 billion of orders from over 100 accounts, which is about 3.35 times the issue size on our arithmetic. July drew more than USD 3.2 billion, which NDB itself puts at 1.8 times. A book that is still comfortably oversubscribed, but the cushion is roughly half of what it was.
EMEA is the only region that grew. Asia Pacific fell from 72% to 65%, the Americas from 5% to 3%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose from 23% to 32%. One honest caveat: in February NDB described the geographic split as demand, in July as allocation, so this compares two slightly different wordings from the same issuer. Even with that caveat, the direction is clear, and the region that grew is the one Dubai sits in.
Who actually bought the paper
| Investor type | February 2026 | July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bank treasuries and banks | 55% | 49% |
| Central banks, official institutions, sovereign funds | 37% | 37% |
| Hedge funds, brokers, others | part of the 8% bucket | 12% |
| Asset and fund managers, corporations | 8% together with others | 2% |
The official-sector share held at 37% in both deals, which is the stable core of any supranational book. What moved is the rest: bank treasuries gave up six percentage points, and the fast-money bucket of hedge funds and brokers came out at 12%, while dedicated asset managers and corporates were left with 2%. NDB reports the February categories in a different grouping, so the two columns are not a like-for-like split; they are the issuer’s own descriptions of two books, and read together they show a July trade taken more by balance sheets and trading desks than by long-only funds.
The UAE is not a bystander here
The UAE has been a member of the New Development Bank since 4 October 2021, with subscribed capital of USD 556 million, a figure the Government of Dubai Media Office published when the EMTN Programme was admitted to Nasdaq Dubai in December 2025. NDB now has ten full members: the five founders (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all from 3 July 2015), Bangladesh from 16 September 2021, the UAE from 4 October 2021, Egypt from 20 February 2023, Algeria from 19 May 2025 and Uzbekistan from 5 June 2026. Uruguay, Colombia, Ethiopia, Angola and Zimbabwe have been admitted and are yet to deposit their instruments of accession.
Read that list once more: the UAE is the only Gulf state in it. That is why a BRICS-founded lender treats Dubai as a home market rather than as one more venue, and why the exchange keeps getting the second listing rather than a London-only deal.
On ratings, NDB carries AA+ with a stable outlook from S and P Global Ratings, affirmed on 1 June 2026, AA with a positive outlook from Fitch, dated 26 May 2026, and AAA from Japan Credit Rating Agency. The EMTN Programme was rated AA by Fitch and AA+ by S and P when Nasdaq Dubai admitted it.
How big is this on the exchange
Nasdaq Dubai reports USD 143.9 billion of outstanding debt securities. NDB’s USD 3.75 billion is therefore about 2.6% of that market on our calculation, and the bank has drawn 7.5% of its USD 50 billion programme through the two Dubai-listed deals. For context, the exchange closed the first half of 2026 with USD 141 billion outstanding, made up of USD 98.6 billion in sukuk and USD 42.4 billion in bonds, after 33 new fixed income listings worth USD 13.8 billion in six months (17 bonds for USD 7.83 billion and 16 sukuk for USD 5.97 billion) from 15 distinct issuers, split 57% UAE and 43% international.
A note for anyone reconciling the numbers themselves. The exchange’s own H1 2026 review describes NDB as completing a “USD 1.75 billion debut listing” on Nasdaq Dubai, yet NDB’s February release already shows the USD 2 billion bond listed in London and Dubai, and the USD 1.75 billion paper was priced on 16 July, after the half-year closed. Both sides agree on the total of USD 3.75 billion across two securities, so that is the figure we use. Nasdaq Dubai also quoted the same USD 143.9 billion outstanding on 3 September, when it welcomed ICBC’s green bonds, and again on 10 September, which suggests a periodic rather than a live figure. Details of that earlier deal are in our note on the ICBC dual-currency green bond listing on Nasdaq Dubai.
What this changes for a company in the UAE, honestly
Nothing in the rulebook. No fee, threshold, procedure or deadline moved on 10 September, and no business in Dubai can act differently tomorrow because a supranational bond was admitted to trading. This is a Reg S institutional benchmark: it is bought in the primary market by banks, central banks and funds, not subscribed by a trading company with a spare balance.
The contrast worth holding on to is the UAE Ministry of Finance retail sukuk, which listed on Nasdaq Dubai on 2 July 2026 with tickets from AED 1,000, attracted a subscribed value of AED 445 million, was covered almost nine times, drew more than 18,000 subscribers across 116 nationalities and put 76% of participants in at AED 10,000 or less. That is the instrument an individual or a small company here can actually buy, and we covered it in our guide to the first UAE retail T-Sukuk from AED 1,000. The NDB bond is the opposite end of the same market.
What the listing does tell a business owner is about the market it is being run in. A venue that hosts sovereigns, banks, corporates and multilateral issuers side by side is a venue where the banks you deal with fund themselves, and pricing on the wholesale side eventually shows up in what a corporate borrower is quoted. If you are watching that market at the retail end as well, the pace of new accounts is a useful gauge: see our figures on 59,108 new investor accounts opened at DFM in eight months of 2026, and the broader policy frame in our overview of the UAE Islamic finance strategy to 2031.
What to watch next
- Whether NDB’s next USD benchmark prints inside or outside SOFR plus 39 bp, the level set on 16 July 2026.
- Whether the EMEA share of the book keeps rising from 32%, or February’s 23% was the norm and July the exception.
- Whether a UAE bank returns to the syndicate: First Abu Dhabi Bank was a joint lead manager in February and not in July.
- Whether NDB draws more than 7.5% of its USD 50 billion programme through Dubai, or keeps London as the primary venue.
- Whether Nasdaq Dubai’s outstanding debt figure moves off USD 143.9 billion at the next reporting point.
- Whether the exchange repeats the retail format of the July sukuk for other issuers, which is the only route that reaches non-institutional buyers.
How Atlant Capital can help
We do not sell securities and we do not advise on bond investments. What we do is the corporate groundwork that sits underneath any UAE business that wants to work with these banks and markets. That means company formation on the mainland and in free zones, with an activity list a bank reads without follow-up questions and a structure that matches how the business actually trades. It means corporate and personal bank account opening in the UAE, including the source-of-funds file, the business rationale and the follow-through that decides whether an application takes weeks or months. And it means residence and work visas, Emirates ID and the medical for owners, directors and staff, because without a resident signatory a bank does not finish the account.
Conclusion
Stripped of the ceremony, the facts are these. A multilateral lender in which the UAE holds USD 556 million of subscribed capital raised USD 1.75 billion for three years in July at 4.375%, got a book above USD 3.2 billion, and put the paper on Nasdaq Dubai alongside its February USD 2 billion issue, for USD 3.75 billion in total. Compared with February the deal was smaller, the coupon higher and the cover roughly half. The one line that moved Dubai’s way is the regional split: EMEA up from 23% to 32%, the only region that grew. For a company operating here nothing changes procedurally today, but the market your bank funds itself in just recorded another data point, and it is worth reading the real numbers rather than the press release headline.
FAQ
What did Nasdaq Dubai list on 10 September 2026?
A USD 1.75 billion three-year benchmark bond issued by the New Development Bank with a 4.375% coupon maturing in 2029. The final order book exceeded USD 3.2 billion, with 65% of demand from Asia Pacific, 32% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 3% from the Americas. The bond was priced on 16 July 2026 at SOFR plus 39 basis points and is also listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Is this the New Development Bank’s first bond on Nasdaq Dubai?
No. NDB listed a USD 2 billion three-year Regulation S bond with a 4% coupon in February 2026, priced on 3 February and maturing on 9 February 2029. With the July deal the bank has USD 3.75 billion outstanding on the exchange across two securities, drawn from its USD 50 billion EMTN Programme that Nasdaq Dubai admitted in December 2025.
Can a company or an individual in the UAE buy this bond?
Not in the primary market. It is a Regulation S institutional benchmark placed with banks, central banks, official institutions and funds, and 49% of it went to banks alone. The retail-accessible comparison on the same exchange is the UAE Ministry of Finance retail sukuk listed on 2 July 2026 with tickets from AED 1,000, which drew more than 18,000 subscribers and was covered almost nine times.
What is the UAE’s connection to the New Development Bank?
The UAE joined NDB on 4 October 2021 with subscribed capital of USD 556 million and remains the only Gulf state among the bank’s ten members. The others are the five founders (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) plus Bangladesh, Egypt, Algeria and Uzbekistan, which joined on 5 June 2026. NDB is rated AA+ by S and P Global Ratings, AA by Fitch and AAA by Japan Credit Rating Agency.
