Bahrain Bourse (BHB) held an official bell-ringing ceremony yesterday (March 26) at the bourse to inaugurate the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), an innovative equity market designed specifically to offer the region’s companies an alternative cost-and time-effective means for raising capital.

 

An agreement was signed with Tamkeen to support businesses and enterprises to cover the costs associated with listing and appointing a sponsor while the event featured BHB signing separate agreements with professional advisory firms KPMG in Bahrain and Keypoint to become authorised sponsors, who will be authorised service providers (sponsors), within the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), a Bahrain News Agency report said. 

 

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MoIC) in Bahrain and the Minister-in-Charge of Bahrain Bourse Zayed Rashid Al-Zayani, Bahrain Bourse CEO Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Tamkeen chief executive Dr Ebrahim Janahi, managing partner of KPMG in Bahrain Jamal Fakhro, and managing director of Keypoint Wajdi Al-Jallad. 

 

As per BIM rules, companies must appoint and retain a sponsor before and during the listing process. In return, the sponsor is responsible for providing companies the required support and guidance to fulfill the BIM admission and financial disclosure requirements. 

 

Shaikh Khalifa said: "I am pleased to say that the Bahrain Investment Market is now officially open for business. Having two of the leading advisory firms coming on board as authorised sponsors and more expected to join soon, as well as Tamkeen’s new dedicated support program, adds even more value to the BIM’s innovative world-class equity market ecosystem."

 

Shaikh Khalifa also noted that the BIM was developed to address two needs in the market simultaneously. The first is the financing gap faced by fast-growing companies who seek growth capital but are not yet at the level where they are able to meet the criteria of the Bahrain Bourse Mainboard. The second is the global investors increasing demand to invest in companies in the region, as indicated by the 42 per cent increase in Bahrain Bourse trading volumes from 2015 to 2016.

 

Start-ups represent the largest and fastest-growing segment of the private sector. According to figures released by Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism earlier this year, the number of commercial registrations in Bahrain nearly tripled, from 9,000 in 2015 to nearly 27,000 in 2016. Therefore, initiatives such as the BIM will fill an important financing gap in the market, the report said.

 

In addition to access to capital, listed companies will benefit from the implementation of globally-accepted standards for financial auditing and reporting such as the IFRS and AAOIFI, as mandated by the BIM.