Equitativa Receives Dual Recognition For “Best REIT Manager” And “Sukuk Of The Year” At The Banker Middle East Awards

Equitativa, the first and largest REIT manager in the GCC, received dual recognition at the Banker Middle East Awards on Thursday when it was voted as the “Best REIT Manager MENA” 2018, and also received the “Sukuk of the Year MENA” for its “Emirates REIT” five-year sukuk issuance.

Equitativa is the founder and manager of “Emirates REIT”, the largest Shari’a compliant REIT in the world and the first to be listed on Nasdaq Dubai, and “The Residential REIT”, the UAE’s first Shari’a compliant residential REIT and the first REIT to be incorporated in Abu Dhabi.

The prestigious Banker Middle East Industry Awards ceremony was attended by prominent industry leaders and banking and finance experts from the Arab World, including the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), Levant and North Africa, and from around the world.

Commenting on the dual recognition, Sylvain Vieujot, Chief Executive Officer of Equitativa, said: “We are extremely honoured to have our flagship REIT, Emirates REIT, recognised for its successful Sukuk issuance and for Equitativa to be acknowledged as a leader in its sector. It has been a very active year for Equitativa. As the first REIT from the MENA region to access the international Sukuk market and obtain a credit rating, Emirates REIT issuance was 2.5X oversubscribed and over 70% of the demand came from international institutional investors. This investors’ confidence, that comes at a challenging time in the international and regional markets, reflects trust in the independent and unbiased management of our funds, and in the quality of our assets.”

He added: “Today, we are well positioned to continue our expansion and diversification programme, and to strengthen our position as a leading independent REIT manager in emerging markets. We are looking forward to yet another engaging and productive year.”

Organised by CPI Financial, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards is the region’s leading financial event where individual and corporate entities are acknowledged for their distinctive performance in the banking and finance industry. This year, the nominations came from across the GCC region and the Levant.