The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has announced a waiver on fees for sustainable debt issuances in an effort to accelerate sustainable finance activities in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
According to DFSA Chief Executive Ian Johnston, the fee waiver is expected to catalyse the acceleration of sustainable debt issuances from the DIFC, complementing the streamlined regulatory process.
Nasdaq Dubai, the DIFC’s exchange, has already established itself as the world’s largest ESG-related sukuk market, with over 60 percent of US-denominated ESG sukuk and nearly 50 percent of all-currencies ESG sukuk.
The fee waiver will apply to all ESG-related bonds and sukuks that are labelled as green, social, sustainable, sustainability-linked, climate, climate adaptation, climate transition, or any similar description. It will cover all new and repeat issuers who make a relevant application to the DFSA, with an effective date for applications received until December 31, 2024.
Johnston reaffirmed the DFSA’s commitment to encouraging green and sustainable finance by stating, “The DFSA reaffirms its continued commitment to encouraging companies to transition towards issuing green and sustainability bonds and sukuk for financing environmentally and climatically sustainable projects”
I have over 10 years of experience in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I have attended numerous conferences and events around the world, and my work has been featured in major publications such as CoinDesk, Bitcoin Magazine, and Yahoo Finance.