ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi said on Tuesday that it had seen strong investor interest in a $5 billion issuance of sovereign bonds, the first by the oil-rich emirate in seven years.

The sale comes with Abu Dhabi and other oil producers facing a sharp drop in energy revenues caused by a slump in crude prices on world markets.

Demand was more than three times higher than supply with orders worth $17 billion for the five- and 10-year bonds, the emirate’s department of finance said in a statement carried by the WAM state news agency.

Abu Dhabi is the richest of seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates and sits on the bulk of the country’s oil wealth.