Bahrain Bourse reveals plans to list gov't, semi-gov't firms in next 2 years: CEO

Khalifa Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse

Bahrain Bourse CEO Khalifa Al-Khalifa revealed plans to list a number of government and semi-government companies in the next two years.

In an interview with Argaam on the sidelines of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM) conference, Al-Khalifa detailed radical developments based on the 2021 economic recovery plan.

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These developments include enhanced services for investors and companies and an improved legislative system for the market targeting medium and small companies, Al-Khalifa explained.

He highlighted the Bahrain Bourse's focus on diversifying its investor base rather than merely attracting investment portfolios. He also noted a shift in capital and investment portfolios towards emerging Gulf markets due to recent geopolitical events in Europe and Russia.

Al Khalifa also emphasized efforts to attract individual investors skilled in fundamental and technical stock analysis and institutional investors to boost market liquidity.

Commenting on the impact of the expected decline in interest rates, Al Khalifa said that bond and sukuk markets would become more appealing than stocks amid rising interest rates. He went on to say that a gradual decrease in interest rates would most likely result in a phased shift of capital to the stock market.