The Bahrain Financial Harbour Holding Company (BFHHC) has announced that Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), the first multi-asset exchange in Mena that will be internationally accessible, will establish its operations at Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH).

Senior BFH officials said a tenancy agreement has been signed with the BFX, under which the company will occupy the 12th floor of the East Tower.

The BFX, launching in the first quarter, 2010, is the first multi-asset exchange in the Middle East and North Africa and will be internationally accessible to trade cash instruments, derivatives, structured products and Sharia-compliant financial instruments.

Access through the e-trading platform and the BFX trading floor, located at the exchange, will allow market participants to raise capital, manage risk and enable investment in a secure environment with central counterparty clearing and settlement. The exchange is also pioneering international standard financial training to facilitate market understanding and development.

“We consider BFX’s recent tenancy as yet another milestone in our development and a noteworthy endorsement of the unique model and work environment BFH provides its tenants in today’s times,” stated Eric Fotiadis, chief development and co-ordination officer of BFHHC.

“The location and facilities are ideal for the business model of the BFX,” added Arshad Khan, board director, BFX.

The final touches are being given to BFX 12th floor to create the BFX ‘plug and trade’ trading floor and an international standard training facility. The trading floor will benefit users by providing real-time market sentiment, concentrating liquidity and the use of full customer relations services.

The international standard training facility is designed to offer a wide range of financial training courses to develop users of the exchange.-TradeArabia News Service