BHB highlights Bahrain Investment Market

Manama, Mar. 8 (BNA): Bahrain Bourse (BHB) in conjunction with the BCCI SME Committee organized a special event to introduce the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) to the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) members. The Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), set to launch in April, is an innovative equity market that is designed to help fast-growing companies in Bahrain, GCC, and wider MENA region seeking capital to fund their growth and expansion. In the presentation, Bahrain Bourse Marketing and Business Development Director Hani Al-Mandeel gave an overview of the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) and detailed its objectives and benefits, noting that it offers companies a cost-effective financing option via direct public offering to investors worldwide. The Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), which is approved by the Central Bank of Bahrain and operated by the Bahrain Bourse (BHB), offers a more relaxed regulatory framework with easier disclosure and minimal admission requirements. In addition, it provides companies with support and guidance before and after listing provided through specialized advisory firms which are authorized by the Bahrain Bourse (BHB). To this end, Bahrain Bourse CEO Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: "The Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) is the culmination of diligent efforts to establish an innovative world-class market that serves the growth of companies and protects the interests of the company owners and investors. It is also the continuation of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s proven track record as a pioneering financial hub and business-friendly environment that boasts a regulatory framework consistently ranked amongst the very best in the world in terms of robustness, transparency, and infrastructure." Shaikh Khalifa added that the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), once launched and trading activity commences, is expected to play a significant role in supporting Bahrain’s economic vision objective of diversifying the economy. Enabling fast-growing companies to obtain needed growth capital has many positive economic ripple effects such as encouraging entrepreneurship, creating new job opportunities, and boosting the private sector’s contribution to the national economy, as well as enriching the local financing portfolio which helps to attract foreign direct investments. "The local and regional markets are ready for such a market and there is a real need for it, as evidenced by a number of trends and figures. Government initiatives geared towards economic diversification, particularly in countries traditionally reliant on oil revenues, have steadily increased the private sector’s share of the national economy year-on-year." The introductory session is the first of a series of several sessions that will be organized by the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) over the next few months to engage the private sector and media in order to familiarize companies with the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) and how it works and answer their queries.