Dubai, UAE - 08 December 2016:  Ezdan Holding Group was recognised as the winner of Bond/Sukuk Deal of the Year by Debut Issuer at the annual Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards last night, leading the Sultanate of Oman’s debut Omani riyal-denominated sukuk and Boubyan Bank’s Perpetual Additional Tier 1 sukuk to claim first place.

A leading developer, owner and operator of real estate in the State of Qatar, Ezdan Holding Group issued its debut sukuk in May this year, a US$500mn 5-year Sharia-compliant instrument, to diversify the company’s sources of funding and provide it with a broader platform from which to grow its business.

Ezdan Holding Group CEO Ali Mohamed Al-Obaidli said: “Ezdan embarked on a financing programme in 2014 which aimed to diversify liquidity pools for the company and ensure that it had access to markets that provided them with an optimal structure and pricing.  The US$500mn sukuk is a crucial step along this journey, and central to our funding strategy going forward.”

“To be honoured with this Award is testament to the hard work of our financing team, banks, and advisers over the past two years,” Al-Obaidli added.

GFC Media Group Managing Director Aveen Prasad said: “Bonds, Loans & Sukuk was established to support companies making a smooth transition from loan funding to the capital markets, while the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Awards give capital markets experts an opportunity to recognise excellence in making that transition. Ezdan Holding Group’s corporate financing evolution is a success story of such a smooth transition, and we would like to congratulate Ezdan's finance team and its advisers on winning the Award for Bond/Sukuk Deal of the Year by Debut Issuer.”

The Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards is the only ceremony to recognise and celebrate excellence in the Middle Eastern and Islamic Capital Markets. Bringing together the industry’s most high-profile figures, the ceremony is an opportunity to raise the profile of the Middle East's financial markets with the international investment community, and to inspire future issuance by Middle Eastern companies.