Ras Al Khaimah's Islamic bonds are becoming highly sought-after by fixed-income investors prepared to go a little off the beaten path in search of low-risk returns.
Yields on the government sukuk, which pay a coupon of 5.2392 per cent, have fallen 35 basis points to 2.876 per cent since highs in March. Bond yields move in the opposite direction to bond prices.
RAK's sukuk is more illiquid than some, but the emirate has benefited from increasing economic diversification and a much higher degree of transparency around its public finances than other emirates.
"Fundamentally, the sovereign is doing fine," said Ahmad Alanani, the senior executive officer at Exotix, a boutique investment firm. "The perception of investors, especially international investors, is that any sovereign in the UAE carries the implicit support of the federal Government."
More intriguing developments are also taking shape.
Last month, DNO International, a Norwegian oil and gas company, signed an amended concession agreement with the emirate's government, RAK Gas and Dahan Petroleum giving it exploration rights during the next 12 months.
They may yet drill nothing but water. But there are hopes there will be a hydrocarbon find.
Elsewhere, reports that the Spanish football giant Real Madrid plans to build a "resort island" in the emirate have turned heads.
It is not known yet where the financing for the US$1 billion project will come from, given the current economic climate.
But the emirate had made headway in building its tourism numbers, said Richard Fox, a sovereign ratings analyst at Fitch Ratings.
"There's clearly foreign-investor interest in the tourism sector," he said. "Though whether this particular project is as successful as people are saying remains to be seen."
The emirate says tourist arrivals totalled 835,000 last year.
And although Dubai has recently launched a government-backed Islamic bond, they are still a rare find in the Middle East.
"There are not that many sovereign sukuk around in that region. It has scarcity value and RAK itself isn't a well-known name," Mr Fox added.
With that in mind, perhaps the deal to build Real Madrid's "football island" is not so far-fetched