MANAMA, 28 December 2007 — Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) is poised to implement the World Bank guidelines aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the bourse, a senior official said yesterday.
The Governor Central Bank of Bahrain and BSE Chairman Rasheed Al-Maraj presided over the BSE board meeting which approved the World Bank implementation plan as well as budget for the year 2008.
The bourse will also have new timings with trading sessions of three hours instead of two hours, the board of directors which discussed the issues on the agenda including the latest developments at the BSE. The board also briefed on the performance of BSE and GCC stock markets and was given update on the recent developments of relocating BSE’s premises to Bahrain Financial Harbor.
The board approved the budget for 2008 and action plan to implement the recommendations of the World Bank which aims to enhance the exchange’s competitiveness.
In addition, the board reconsidered the contributions of brokers in the guarantee fund which was established in the year 2000 in order to cover any broker net obligation failure on the settlement day. The board also approved changing and extending the trading session on the exchange from two hours to three hours to start at 9.30am and close at 12.30 noon instead of 10am to 12 noon. The Board also discussed in its meeting the guideline of rules and regulations for providing online trading.
Separately, Bahrain’s efforts to establish its position as a leading regional destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) has started paying off with projected revenues of BD25.772 million and BD34.146 million in 2008 and 2009 respectively, a senior official revealed yesterday.
Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Hassan Abdulla Fakhro, who is also chairman of the Bahrain Exhibition and Conference Authority, directed the board of directors to find fast and effective solutions aimed at expansion for the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre in line with the growing needs of an enhanced capacity and facilities required for the upcoming mega events in Bahrain.
The minister said that the BECA would take all possible steps to enhance the capacity of the Bahrain International Exhibition Center (BIEC) by increasing the numbers of expo halls and equip them with state-of-the-art facilities.
Fakhro also hinted at the possibility of partnering with the national carrier Gulf Air as an official carrier for all upcoming events of BCEA.
He underlined the importance of developing and streamlining the exhibition sector as a vital segment of the national economy said that it was government’s first priority to advance exhibition industry sector.
“This sector offers rare investment opportunities by attracting businesses to the Kingdom being one of the most promising sectors with high returns for both investors and the local economy. In the backdrop of the BCEA track record and the and the Kingdom’s attractive investment climate as well as strategic location, there will be major expos coming to Bahrain from both regional and international perspectives.”
The minister was informed that the BCEA had generated a total BD15.542 million in 2007 taking the total number of exhibitors and international delegation about 11,000.
