Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
The UAE accounted for 38.4% of global Islamic syndicated financing issuances during the first nine months of 2025, underscoring its growing influence in Shariah-compliant financing, according to a Fitch Ratings report.
Islamic syndication — a Shariah-compliant, jointly arranged financing structure — is a key component of Islamic capital raising alongside Sukuk. Unlike conventional loans, these syndicated facilities are structured around profit-sharing, leasing, or sale agreements instead of interest payments, making them compliant with Islamic finance principles.
Fitch noted that global outstanding Islamic syndicated financing surpassed $200 billion by end-September 2025, marking a 32.5% year-on-year increase, with nearly 90% of activity concentrated in core Islamic finance markets — the GCC, Indonesia, Malaysia, Türkiye and Pakistan.
The GCC region maintained its dominance, accounting for 67.5% of issuances and 78% of global outstanding Islamic syndicated financing as of 9M25. Within the bloc, the UAE emerged as the single largest contributor, responsible for 31.3% of total syndicated financing in core markets.
“We expect global Islamic syndication issuances to remain more or less at the same activity levels we saw in 2025, as issuers increasingly favour Sukuk and bonds, driven by investor diversification and regulatory support,” said Bashar Al Natoor, Fitch’s Global Head of Islamic Finance. “Despite this shift, Islamic syndicated financing continues to offer simpler documentation and faster execution than Sukuk and bonds, which supports its sustained relevance.”
The UAE and Saudi Arabia together represented nearly 70% of total global Islamic syndication activity in 9M25. The UAE led with 32% of core-market issuances while Saudi Arabia accounted for 37%, while Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia made smaller contributions.
By currency, the US dollar dominated with a 53% share of global outstanding Islamic syndicated financing, reflecting its benchmark role in cross-border transactions.
The UAE dirham followed at 19%, highlighting the growing internationalisation of dirham-based Shariah finance. The Saudi riyal accounted for 16%, while the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit contributed around 3% each.
