DUBAI: Capital Bank of Jordan rang the bell for the opening of Nasdaq Dubai’s market, which comes after the successful listing of a $100 million perpetual AT1 bond.

The bond is the first issuance of its kind for a Jordanian bank on the region’s international financial exchange. Dubai was chosen for the listing in view of its role as the largest listing venue in the Middle East for US dollar-denominated debt listings.

Rima Shaban, the bank’s Head of Private Banking and Wealth Management, rang the Nasdaq Dubai market opening bell today in the presence of Capital Bank Group’s CEO as well as executive management team members.

"We are proud of our successful listing at Nasdaq Dubai, which we consider a unique global trading platform operating within a high-quality and well-regulated environment," commented Bassem Khalil Al-Salem, Capital Bank Group Chairman. "This will further extend Capital Bank’s reach and allow our teams to further strengthen the bank’s relationship with investors in the United Arab Emirates as well as the entire Gulf Region."

Al-Salem further expressed his gratitude to the investors who placed their trust in the listing, demonstrating their strong confidence in Capital Bank’s ambitious strategy and its ability to achieve and sustain consistent growth.

Abdul Wahed Al Fahim, Chairman of Nasdaq Dubai, said, "Nasdaq Dubai attracted its highest ever number and value of new bond listings in 2021. We are delighted to see leading regional and global institutions, including Capital Bank, leveraging Nasdaq Dubai’s world-class ecosystem to achieve their fund-raising plans and strengthen their links with investors. We are committed to continuously developing our market in line with the evolving requirements of participants and to reinforce Nasdaq Dubai’s active role in realising the strategic objectives of Dubai as a capital markets hub."

Dawod Al-Ghoul, CEO of Capital Bank, explained that the bank plans to use the proceeds of this issuance to support the capital base of Capital Bank Group, noting that "this will serve to propel the Group’s expansion plans, particularly following the opening of the first branch of the National Bank of Iraq in Saudi Arabia. It also flows in direct harmony with our ongoing and far-reaching digital transformation plans, epitomized by the recent introduction of Blink, our flagship digital banking platform that just launched in Jordan and will soon debut in Iraq."

This issuance, added Al-Ghoul, which came within the requirements of Basel 3, was conceived with the objective of cultivating a diverse base of investors from the region, making Nasdaq Dubai the ideal platform given its broad regional and global appeal.

Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), said, "We are pleased to welcome the bond listing by Capital Bank of Jordan as a first step of its kind from a pioneering establishment. This indicates the close ties between the capital markets of UAE and Jordan, creating a template for other Jordanian and regional institutions to utilize the expertise and infrastructure Dubai offers. A number of leading corporate and sovereign debt issuers have chosen to list on Nasdaq Dubai, which shows their confidence in the market."

Capital Investments was the sole manager of this bond issuance, with legal counsel offered by Simmons & Simmons to the issuer and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to the manager, in cooperation with Jordanian legal consulting firm Obeidat, Tarawneh, and Kurd.

Nasdaq Dubai has witnessed a healthy stream of issuances and listings in 2021, including 30 listings of Sukuk and bonds totaling $23.1 billion and a record-breaking 14 bond issuances valued at $ 11.2 billion, up 141 percent compared to 2020.