The Markaz Gulf Fund listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) today (May 6).

BSE director Fouad Rashid issued a resolution yesterday to list the fund, issued by the Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz). The resolution was issued following the signing of an agreement to list the fund.

It was signed by Rashid and Markaz general manager Manaf Abdulaziz Alhajeri.

Rashid praised the Markaz initiative to list one of its funds on BSE, hoping that this step will pave the way for further co-operation between the exchange and Markaz in the future.

He highlighted BSE's continuous plans to develop the technical environment of the exchange in order to encourage mutual fund managers to list their funds on BSE.

'This is to make the listing of funds at BSE a choice of investment to support the credibility of funds, enhance transparency, and make the exchange more attractive for investors,' he said.

'The benefits of listing Markaz Gulf Fund are clear to clients, as it increases Markaz' credibility and promotes both transparency and liquidity, which are of extreme relevance during this period,' Alhajeri said.

The primary objective of the fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing principally in equity securities listed on the stock markets of the GCC and the Middle East and North Africa region.

The fund was established in December 2005 with a variable paid-up capital and a par value of $3 per unit.

The fund outperformed its benchmark MSCI-Arabia by 32.8 per cent since inception and its net asset value per unit was $2.05 on March 31, this year.

With the listing of the Markaz Gulf Fund, the number of mutual funds listed on BSE reached a total of 41.-TradeArabia News Service