UAE Bonds & Sukuk Yields Explained — What They Pay in October 2026 (AED Reference)

Jun 2

7 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

The big news for UAE savers since my last refresh is that rates moved up. The CBUAE raised its Base Rate to 3.90% on 17 September 2026, following the Fed's hike, and the Ministry of Finance has since closed its second Retail T-Sukuk: five years at 5.06% profit, with AED 285 million of orders for an AED 50 million target.

This page tracks the UAE bond and sukuk landscape — AED government T-Bonds and T-Sukuk, the retail sukuk, plus key USD bank sukuk — so you can see where UAE credit is priced. Figures are as of 20 October 2026 unless a different date is shown in the table. Rates are indicative and change frequently — confirm directly with the issuer or your broker before acting. This is not financial advice.

Dubai financial district skyline at night — Representative image of Dubai's financial district. UAE T-Bonds, T-Sukuk and the Retail T-Sukuk are listed on Nasdaq Dubai.

UAE Bond & Sukuk Yield Reference — Rates as of 20 October 2026 (indicative, verify with issuer)

Rates are indicative. Each row shows the date of its own figure. AED T-Bond/T-Sukuk data is from the Ministry of Finance's July 2026 auction (the latest I could find); the retail sukuk and rate figures come from Ministry of Finance and press reports in September and October 2026.

Instrument	Issuer	Maturity / Tenor	Yield / Profit Rate	Last Date	Currency	Notes
Sovereign Retail T-Sukuk (2nd issuance)	UAE Ministry of Finance	5 years	5.06% profit rate	Subscription 23–28 Sep 2026; listed on Nasdaq Dubai early Oct 2026	AED	Islamic. Min AED 1,000, semi-annual profit payments. Orders of AED 285m against an AED 50m target (about 5.7x); 75% of applications were AED 10,000 or less. Open to UAE nationals and residents at issue; now trades on the secondary market.
Sovereign Retail T-Sukuk (1st issuance)	UAE Ministry of Finance	2 years (Jul 2028)	4.30% profit rate	Listed 2 Jul 2026	AED	Islamic. Issued before the September rate rise, so its fixed profit rate is now below the 5-year issue. Secondary price can sit above or below AED 1,000 face value.
Treasury Sukuk (T-Sukuk)	UAE MoF / CBUAE	~12 months (Oct 2027)	4.49% YTM	Jul 2026 (latest published)	AED	Islamic. July 2026 auction: AED 1.1bn across T-Sukuk and T-Bond, AED 4.83bn bids, 4.4x oversubscribed. This pre-dates the September policy-rate rise, so current secondary yields may differ. No newer auction result found as of 20 Oct 2026.
Treasury Bond (T-Bond)	UAE MoF / CBUAE	~4.25 years (Jan 2031)	4.48% YTM	Jul 2026 (latest published)	AED	Conventional. Same July 2026 auction. Same caveat: priced before the September rate rise.
AT1 Perpetual Sukuk (NC5.5yr)	Ajman Bank	Perpetual / Non-Call 5.5yr	6.50% profit rate	8 Jul 2026	USD	Islamic AT1 bank capital, $300m. Higher risk — ranks below depositors. Latest UAE bank AT1 pricing I have tracked.
AT1 Perpetual Sukuk (NC6yr)	Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)	Perpetual / Non-Call 6yr	6.250% profit rate	9 Jun 2026	USD	Islamic AT1 bank capital, $1bn, 2.3x oversubscribed. Higher risk — ranks below depositors.
EIBOR (3-Month)	CBUAE benchmark	Rolling 3 months	4.2146%	17 Sep 2026	AED	Underpins most floating-rate mortgages. 17 Sep is the latest fixing I could verify; check CBUAE for today's figure.
EIBOR (6-Month)	CBUAE benchmark	Rolling 6 months	4.2477%	17 Sep 2026	AED	Used in some corporate and bilateral loans. Same date caveat.
CBUAE Base Rate	Central Bank of the UAE	Overnight deposit facility	3.90%	Effective 17 Sep 2026 (raised from 3.65%)	AED	Raised 25 bps after the US Fed's 25 bp hike on 16 Sep 2026. The CBUAE kept its short-term borrowing rate at 50 bps above the Base Rate.

How to Read This Table

YTM (Yield to Maturity) — The annualised return if you buy at the current price and hold to maturity. For a retail sukuk bought at issue at AED 1,000, it equals the profit rate; bought on Nasdaq Dubai above AED 1,000, it is lower.
Profit rate vs interest rate — Sukuk quote a 'profit rate' (Islamic structure); bonds quote a 'yield'. Both are the annualised return to the holder.
Fixed vs moving rates — A sukuk's profit rate is fixed at issue. The first Retail T-Sukuk keeps paying 4.30% even though newer paper now pays more — which is why its secondary price can move.
EIBOR — The AED interbank benchmark published by the CBUAE. Floating-rate mortgages are usually EIBOR plus a spread, so a Base Rate rise tends to feed through.
AT1 / perpetual sukuk — Bank capital instruments: higher coupon, but subordinated to other creditors and can be written down if the bank's capital falls below a trigger. Not comparable with sovereign paper for risk.
AED vs USD — AED instruments carry no currency risk for dirham-based investors (peg at 3.6725). USD sukuk matter if your costs or goals are in dollars.

What Is Driving UAE Yields Right Now (20 October 2026)

1. The Fed peg — rates moved up in September

The Fed raised its Interest Rate on Reserve Balances by 25 basis points on 16 September 2026, and the CBUAE raised the Base Rate on its Overnight Deposit Facility from 3.65% to 3.90%, effective 17 September. Source: Gulf News.

2. The second Retail T-Sukuk — a higher-rate sequel

The Ministry of Finance announced the second issuance on 17 September, set the profit rate at 5.06% on 22 September, and ran subscriptions from 23 to 28 September through the DFM eIPO platform, the iVestor and DFM apps and participating banks. Orders reached AED 285 million, about 5.7 times the AED 50 million target; UAE nationals made up 69% of demand across 110 nationalities. Source: Ministry of Finance. No third issuance had been announced as of 20 October 2026.

3. Institutional auctions — July is still the latest result

The July 2026 auction raised AED 1.1 billion against AED 4.83 billion in bids (4.4x), pricing the October 2027 T-Sukuk at 4.49% YTM and the January 2031 T-Bond at 4.48% YTM. Those yields pre-date the September rate rise, so read them as a snapshot, not today's market. Source: WAM.

4. Bank capital sukuk — no new pricing this cycle

Ajman Bank's $300 million AT1 sukuk (6.50%, 8 July 2026) and Dubai Islamic Bank's $1 billion AT1 (6.250%, 9 June 2026) remain the latest UAE bank AT1 pricings I have tracked. Sources: Zawya — Ajman Bank and Zawya — DIB.

What Changes the Numbers

Fed and CBUAE decisions — The biggest driver of short-end UAE yields. A hike lifts them; a cut lowers them.
US Treasury yields — Longer UAE yields track USTs closely, with a small UAE spread.
Auction demand — Strong oversubscription lets the Ministry price tighter; weaker demand pushes yields up.
Supply — More issuance, retail or institutional, adds supply; demand has so far run at several multiples of size.
Secondary price — On Nasdaq Dubai your actual yield depends on the price you pay, not just the headline profit rate.

FAQ — UAE Bonds & Sukuk Yields

Q: What changed for UAE rates in September 2026?

On 16 September 2026 the US Federal Reserve raised its Interest Rate on Reserve Balances by 25 basis points, and the CBUAE followed, lifting its Base Rate from 3.65% to 3.90% effective 17 September. Because the dirham is pegged to the dollar, UAE short-term rates move with the Fed. Rates are indicative and change frequently — confirm directly with the issuer or your broker before acting.

Q: What is the second Retail T-Sukuk?

It is the Ministry of Finance's second sovereign retail issue: a five-year Islamic sukuk with a 5.06% annual profit rate, minimum AED 1,000 and semi-annual payments. Subscriptions ran 23–28 September 2026 and drew AED 285 million of orders against an AED 50 million target. It has since been listed on Nasdaq Dubai. The first issue (2 years, 4.30%) was priced before the September rate rise. This is not financial advice.

Q: Can I still buy a Retail T-Sukuk?

The subscription windows for both issues have closed. Both now trade on Nasdaq Dubai, so you would buy through a broker licensed there, at whatever the secondary market price is. That price can differ from the AED 1,000 face value, so your yield will differ from the headline profit rate. Check mof.gov.ae for any future issuance; none had been announced as of 20 October 2026.

Q: Can I still take part in T-Bond and T-Sukuk auctions?

UAE residents can take part in institutional T-Bond and T-Sukuk auctions through Emirates NBD with a minimum of AED 1,000. The most recent published result I found is July 2026 (AED 1.1bn issued, 4.4x oversubscribed). Check emiratesnbd.com or mof.gov.ae for the next date.

Q: What is the difference between a sukuk and a bond?

A conventional bond is a loan that pays interest. A sukuk is a Shariah-compliant certificate of ownership in an underlying asset, paying a 'profit rate'. In the July 2026 auction the T-Sukuk (4.49% YTM) and T-Bond (4.48% YTM) priced almost identically; the difference is structure, not economics.

Q: What does YTM mean?

Yield to Maturity is the annualised return if you buy at today's price and hold to maturity. Buy above face value and your YTM is below the profit rate; buy below and it is higher.

Q: Are UAE sovereign sukuk safe?

They are backed by the UAE federal government, which Moody's, S&P and Fitch have rated Aa2, AA and AA- respectively with stable outlooks at their last affirmations. Your money is still tied up for the tenor unless you sell on the secondary market, where prices move. Bank AT1 sukuk are subordinated bank capital, a higher-risk category. This is not financial advice.

Sources & Methodology

Figures checked on 20 October 2026 against Ministry of Finance, WAM, Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Zawya reports. The CBUAE's own EIBOR page blocks automated reads, so the EIBOR figures are the 17 September 2026 fixing as reported; check the CBUAE page for today's. No live secondary-market prices were used. Key sources: mof.gov.ae | centralbank.ae (EIBOR) | wam.ae. Rates are indicative and change frequently — confirm directly with the issuer or your broker before acting.

This page is for information only and is not financial, investment or tax advice. Yields change frequently — verify every figure with the issuer or a licensed adviser before making any decision. This is not financial advice.