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Dubai, January 4 / The market for green and sustainable bonds and sukuk in the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries set a new record during the past year 2022, with the number of issuances more than doubling.
Bloomberg capital markets data showed that the total issuance of green and sustainable bonds and sukuk in the GCC countries amounted to $8.5 billion from 15 deals during the past year, compared to about $605 million from 6 deals during 2021.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the list of issuers in the region with more than 50% of the total issuances, while the rest of the issuances came from the United Arab Emirates, in which all issuances were concentrated during the year 2021 at the level of the GCC region.
The year 2022 saw a number of notable firsts, including a $3 billion green bond from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the first sustainable sukuk of $750 million from Dubai Islamic Bank, and the first sustainable sukuk of $750 million from Dubai Islamic Bank. The National Bank of Saudi Arabia, as well as green bonds worth $500 million from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
First Abu Dhabi Bank maintained its position as one of the most prominent pioneers in the region during 2022, thanks to three issuances of green bonds, with a value of about $1.49 billion during this period.
This trend in the Gulf region is in contrast to what the global markets witnessed, which recorded a decline in sales of new green and sustainable bonds and sukuk by 14% during 2022, dropping from about $739 billion to $635 billion.
