The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX),MENA region’s first ever multi-asset exchange will commence live operations from the 7th February 2011.
The official launch of the BFX will be marked by a ceremony to be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Prime Minister on the 1st of February 2011.
The Exchange will adopt a phased approach to its trading whereby its Islamic division – Bait Al Bursa will start its e-Tayseer platform for general use on the 7th of February 2011, and its conventional segment will start on the 7th March 2011. This two phased approach is designed to give market participants sufficient time to market and develop business in the BFX’s Islamic sector in advance of launching the conventional market.
The BFX will be a unique global exchange where multi-asset class instruments will commence trading on a single exchange environment offering its users Islamic products, currencies, commodities and equity indices in its first phase of live operations. The launch of the BFX will include the start of operations of Bait Al Bursa, the BFX’s Islamic division, as well as the BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC). It will provide the region with a fully integrated electronic trading platform, with a plug and trade trading floor, which will be internationally accessible to trade securities, structured products, Shariah-compliant financial instruments and derivatives.
“The first day of trading for the Bahrain Financial Exchange will be a momentous event for the financial services industry in the MENA and I am honoured that HRH the PM has given his patronage to this important occasion,” said Jignesh Shah, CEO and Chairman of the Financial Technologies Group and Chairman of the BFX and the BCDC.
“When we started the project, we recognised that there was a gap in the market and that the MENA financial sector needs to have a fully functioning multi-asset exchange to be able to fulfil its true international potential. We were delighted to set-up in Bahrain under the watchful regulation of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and we know that the hard work and dedication of the team here will lead to real benefits for the whole region.”
“The Central Bank of Bahrain welcomes the BFX to the Kingdom of Bahrain. By providing a multi-asset platform for trading financial instruments, particularly those that are Shariah compliant; the BFX sits squarely with Bahrain’s long-term development strategy which is to encourage a strong, competitive and well-diversified financial sector,” said Abdul Rahman Al Baker, Executive Director of the Financial Institutions Directorate at the Central Bank of Bahrain.
“We are proud and delighted to see the Bahrain Financial Exchange moving from concept to reality. Setting-up a multi-asset exchange with conventional and Islamic products serving participants across the MENA market has not been an easy task to accomplish. Drawing from the strength of our promoters, our regulator, our members and our employees, we are very pleased that we have achieved this feat in only two years. The Exchange has a unique business model which will draw liquidity from across the region into a range of asset classes. Every element of the BFX, Bait Al Bursa, the BFX Training Institute and the BCDC has been designed to deliver a self sufficient and self sustaining business built around robust technology and risk management,” added Arshad Khan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the BFX and the BCDC.