Emirates NBD Provides Green Facility to Arabian Gulf Steel Industries

The financing is intended to increase AGSI’s production capacity in response to rising demand for green steel from the real estate and construction sectors. AGSI operates with one of the lowest reported carbon footprints among steel producers in the Middle East and has positioned itself as a pure-play green steel manufacturer. The company has been recognised as the first net-zero steel manufacturing plant in the MENA region and the first globally to achieve carbon neutrality.

 

Financing Framework and Industrial Decarbonisation

 

The transaction is classified as “green” under Emirates NBD’s Sustainable Finance Framework and aligns with the Green Loan Principles established by the Loan Market Association. The structure includes defined use-of-proceeds criteria, environmental monitoring requirements and annual impact reporting to ensure transparency and accountability.

 

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Steel production accounts for approximately 8 percent of global CO₂ emissions, making decarbonisation of the sector central to national and international net-zero targets. As the industry transitions toward lower-emission iron and recycled steel processes, access to structured green finance is increasingly critical for capital-intensive upgrades and capacity expansion.

The facility also supports the UAE’s Net-Zero by 2050 agenda, reinforcing the role of financial institutions in enabling industrial transformation across high-emitting sectors.

 

Executive Perspective and Strategic Context

 

Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking at Emirates NBD, stated that the facility sets a precedent for sustainable industrial finance in the region, underscoring AGSI’s low-carbon production credentials and alignment with national green manufacturing ambitions.

Asam Hussain, CEO and Founder of AGSI, described the financing as an indicator of investor confidence in measured industrial decarbonisation, enabling the company to scale responsibly while adhering to credible environmental frameworks.

 

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Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD, emphasized that each green financing facility under the bank’s framework is aligned with international standards and subject to rigorous reporting requirements.

For regional industrial leaders and institutional investors, the transaction highlights a broader trend: decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors increasingly depends on structured green finance instruments tied to measurable environmental outcomes.