RIYADH: Emirates Islamic, the Dubai-based bank, on Sunday said it has closed a $500 million five-year sukuk issuance deal as part of its $2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Program. The issuance, rated A+ by Fitch, is listed on NASDAQ Dubai and Euronext Dublin’s Regulated Market. The order book amounted to $1.2 billion, which is 2.4 times the issuance size, indicating the bank’s strong appeal to investors. “The oversubscription and tight pricing of the issue demonstrates the strong investor confidence in our financials and growth outlook as well as the favorable outlook for the UAE economy,” said CEO Salah Amin.