RIYADH: The UAE’s debt capital market is set to surpass $350 billion in 2026 and exceed $400 billion in the following years, supported by strong sukuk issuance, funding diversification and regulatory reforms, an analysis showed.
In a new report, Fitch Ratings said that outstanding debt in the UAE climbed past $325 billion at the end of 2025, marking a 9.3 percent increase from a year earlier.
The steady momentum in the Gulf Cooperation Council sukuk market highlights the region’s expanding debt markets, driven by domestic and international investors seeking diversification and stable returns.
Earlier this month, Fitch said in a separate report that Saudi Arabia’s debt capital market is projected to reach $600 billion outstanding in 2026, positioning the Kingdom as the largest US dollar debt and sukuk issuer among emerging markets.
Bashar Al-Natoor, Fitch’s global head of Islamic finance, said: “UAE’s DCM saw record high sukuk issuance in 2025, the highest-ever annual issuance. Dollar sukuk issuance rose to about 50 percent of dollar issuance, also the highest on record and up from 21.4 percent in 2024.”
