Doha Bank has successfully completed and listed its inaugural USD150 million Floating Rate Digitally Native Notes (DNN) on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market (ISM), marking one of the earliest USD-denominated digital bond issuances from Qatar and a notable milestone for digital capital markets in the GCC.
The transaction achieved instant, same-day (T+0) settlement via Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI), a distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based platform designed to support the issuance, distribution and settlement of fully digital international securities. In a market still wrestling with T+2 conventions, this was a clear signal that theory is giving way to execution.
Standard Chartered acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Sole Arranger, leading the structuring, execution and distribution of the transaction. Citi served as issuing and paying agent on the digital issuance.
Beyond the technical achievement, the deal is strategically significant. Doha Bank’s DNN attracted a new investor to the bank, underlining the commercial case for digital issuance as a route to broaden funding bases and unlock incremental liquidity pools. It also positions Qatar among the frontrunners in the GCC’s race to establish credible, institution-grade digital bond infrastructure.
Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Fahad Al-Thani, Group CEO of Doha Bank, described the issuance as a cornerstone in the bank’s funding strategy, highlighting its alignment with the Qatar Central Bank’s Third Financial Sector Strategy and the government’s broader digital transformation agenda. He emphasised that real-time settlement, combined with regulated digital-market infrastructure, enhances efficiency, deepens market access and reinforces confidence in Qatar as a forward-looking financial hub.
From an execution standpoint, the deal showcased how DLT can deliver tangible operational benefits. The DNN structure offers enhanced transparency, decentralised record-keeping and streamlined post-trade processes, while retaining compatibility with existing market standards and secondary-market liquidity frameworks.
Salman Ansari, Global Head of Capital Markets at Standard Chartered, noted that the transaction reflects growing client appetite for next-generation market infrastructure and demonstrates how digital rails are now delivering measurable efficiencies in live capital markets transactions.
Euroclear’s role was central to the settlement breakthrough. Sebastien Danloy, Chief Business Officer at Euroclear, pointed to the importance of a neutral, regulated DLT infrastructure that integrates seamlessly with traditional trading venues and post-trade services. This, he noted, ensures that innovation does not come at the expense of investor protection or liquidity—often the unspoken concern in digital-market experiments.
The London Stock Exchange, as listing venue, reinforced its ambition to sit at the heart of digital securities markets. Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange plc and Head of Digital & Securities Markets at LSEG, said the transaction underscores how established financial centres are evolving their infrastructure to support more efficient, digitally enabled capital markets.
For the GCC, the message is clear; digital bond issuance is moving into production. Doha Bank’s DNN provides a concrete reference point for issuers, regulators and investors across the region.
