Emirates NBD has priced AED 1 billion of Digitally Native Notes (DNNs) under its EMTN programme, the first AED-denominated digital bond in the MENA region. The three-year, fixed-rate issue was cleared via Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure and admitted to trading on Nasdaq Dubai, marking a practical move into digital finance for UAE debt capital markets.
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Deal details and structure
Emirates NBD issued AED 1bn of Digitally Native Notes (DNNs) under its Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme. The notes carry a 3-year tenor with a fixed coupon of 4.25% and are denominated in AED. The issuance used distributed ledger technology (DLT) to digitise the bond lifecycle, from issuance and clearing to settlement, by clearing on Euroclear’s D-FMI platform. The securities were admitted to Nasdaq Dubai for secondary-market access.
Legal, structuring and distribution roles were handled by a syndicate led by Emirates NBD Capital with global and regional banks participating. Clifford Chance served as the legal adviser on the deal, handling the cross-border legal work needed to bring a DLT-cleared bond to market and have it admitted to an exchange.
Market reception and investor demand
The issue was roughly 1.3 times oversubscribed — signalling a clear appetite for AED-denominated, digitally native securities. Buyers came from a wide mix of regional and international investors, drawn both to Emirates NBD’s credit strength and to the operational efficiencies offered by a DLT-based issuance. Fitch also published a note on the inaugural issue, assigning ratings consistent with the bank’s A+ issuer profile.
Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking at Emirates NBD, said: “This issuance is a landmark for Emirates NBD and the region’s debt capital markets. Supported by pro-business regulations and forward-thinking financial services, the UAE continues to set new benchmarks in digital assets and distributed ledger technology. This transaction enhances operational efficiency, accelerates settlement cycles, strengthens transparency and security, and builds a more resilient digital capital markets ecosystem in the region.”
Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Dubai Financial Market (DFM), added: “The admission of an AED-denominated digitally native bond to Nasdaq Dubai reflects the growing maturity of digital debt markets. It demonstrates that new issuance models can operate confidently within a regulated, internationally aligned exchange environment while maintaining transparency, liquidity, and investor confidence. This reinforces Dubai’s position as a trusted platform for capital markets innovation.”
Why this matters for Dubai, the UAE and MENA debt markets
This transaction is a practical template for bringing digital finance to regional debt capital markets. Market reception and investor demand. By using DLT for clearing while listing the notes on Nasdaq Dubai, the structure keeps the door open to familiar trading and settlement channels. At the same time, it streamlines how the bond is issued and settled, making the transition to digital less disruptive. This hybrid approach gives traditional investors and market infrastructure providers confidence that digital instruments can work within existing liquidity pools and regulatory systems. The issuance also positions the UAE and Dubai as early adopters in MENAT for digital debt instruments.
Role of Euroclear’s D-FMI and DLT
Euroclear’s D-FMI provides the distributed-ledger backbone that enables fully digital issuance and settlement while interfacing with established market functions. Using D-FMI means the bond’s recordkeeping, transfers, and settlement can occur on a secure ledger, shortening processes and lowering operational risk. At the same time, listing on a conventional exchange ensures price discovery and a route for secondary trading. The combination is the technical heart of the deal.
Broader implications for digital assets and debt capital markets
The issue signals momentum for digital finance across MENAT. The transaction gives issuers a clear, working template: digitally native notes can be issued in local currency, settled on established DLT platforms, and traded on regional exchanges. With that model now tested, more banks and government-linked entities are expected to explore similar structures. As activity builds, regulators and market operators are also likely to fine-tune the rules and frameworks around these instruments. This is a step toward mainstreaming tokenised and DLT-native securities in regional capital markets.
Looking ahead
- similar AED-denominated digital issues from other regional banks or sovereign entities;
- clarifications or guidance from UAE market regulators on DLT-cleared securities;
- secondary-market liquidity signals on Nasdaq Dubai that will show whether digitisation materially changes trading depth and cost. The Emirates NBD issuance is both a proof-of-concept and a live market experiment.
