UAE’s Shari’a compliant National Bonds has registered a 35 per cent increase in non-resident bondholders in 2008, sources said.

Non-resident bondholders are from various continents, the top five nationalities among the bondholders are Omanis, leading with 23 per cent followed by Indians, Saudi Arabians, Pakistanis and British nationals. They are able to access their accounts by checking their statements, track winnings and buy bonds online in a simple and hassle free manner on nationalbonds.ae. 

Interest in National Bonds has grown considerably since last month’s announcement of the highest annual profit rate of 7.07 per cent in the UAE for bondholders in 2008.  Not only did this surpass the 6.03 per cent annual profit rate announced by National Bonds at the end of its first financial year in 2007 but it is also the highest return against any comparable savings scheme offered by any financial institution in the UAE.

The savings scheme recently announced Pakistani national Halima Haq as the 34th bond holder to win the monthly grand prize of Dh1 million ($272,000) at the February draw.

The monthly draw also announced two winners of Dh100,000 each -- Muhammad Abdul Matin, a non resident living in  Pakistan and a UAE national Faisal Ahmed al Mannaei.

“It was on the recommendation of a friend in Dubai that I decided to invest in National Bonds along with my son,” said Matin. “We were happy with the 7.07 per cent dividends that we received as a result of the record annual profit rate for 2008 but this monthly prize is a wonderful surprise. I am quite excited and yet not  been able to decide what to do with the  prize money. We as a family look at National Bonds as a universal, profitable and sound savings scheme. We are  looking  forward to winning more prizes and receiving  even better dividends compared to local savings schemes in Pakistan.”

Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds, said: “We have identified a major growth area outside the UAE, and plan to place greater emphasis on this segment in 2009. By widening the customer base to include people living outside the UAE, we plan to tap into a huge market of potential bondholders around the world. Our uniqueness as a trend-setting saving scheme is demonstrated in the seamless functionalities offered through our website. The power of the Internet cannot be ignored, especially during the current situation where people are looking for the best way to protect their lifetime savings.” – TradeArabia News Service