?Dubai’s Noor Bank has launched its debut benchmark sharia-compliant bond, adding its name to the list of Gulf sovereigns and financial institutions that have tapped debt markets in recent weeks.

The lender printed the perpetual $500m Tier-1 capital notes at competitive pricing on the back of strong demand, it said in a statement, without giving price details. Noor Bank’s AT1-Sukuk is the first perpetual Tier-1 issuance from the UAE this year, following global roadshows across the Middle East, Asia and Europe with an order book crossing more than $1bn.

The issuance has “enabled us to set an industry benchmark by printing the lowest?-priced, contingent, Basel III-compliant Tier-1 paper in Dubai”, Noor Bank CEO Hussain al-Qemzi said in the statement.

The Dubai-government controlled lender, which first tapped the international debt markets in April 2015 with a five-year $500m sukuk, was helped by the US’ Citi bank and the UK’s Standard Chartered on the capital-boosting bond as the joint global coordinators.

Local lenders Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Gulf Bank, Noor Bank and Sharjah Islamic Bank acted as the joint lead managers on the deal. Ajman Bank and Union National Bank acted as co-lead managers.