MANAMA: Hosting the largest event for bourses in the Middle East will boost Bahrain’s efforts to develop the capital market, the top official of Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has said.

In the run-up to the Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM) annual conference lined up on March 29 and 30, Shaikh Khalifa Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the chief executive of the self-regulated multi-asset marketplace, told the GDN in an exclusive interview that a key highlight of the event is the handover of the federation’s presidency from the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to BHB.

“During its presidency period, Bahrain Bourse will lead the Arab Federation of Capital Markets throughout 2022 and continue the efforts to further develop the federation and enable it to achieve its vision, focusing on enhancing work systems and models at the institutional and technical levels,” he added.

Shaikh Khalifa said this will further advance efforts to develop the federation’s capabilities and competitiveness, as work gathers pace on enhancing BHB’s role to support Arab stock exchanges to promote inter-Arab trade in securities as a key financing source of regional economic and social development plans.

The annual conference serves as a platform for leaders of Arab stock markets and international experts to gather and exchange views and expertise.

Asked about the most important topics that will be discussed during the two days, he listed sustainability, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), green financing, regulatory technology (RegTech), market data monetisation, and all developments related to technology applications that support the activity and effectiveness of financial markets as themes that are on top of everyone’s mind.

“The conference will showcase and discuss the major themes driving regional capital markets, and will serve as a key forum for sharing ideas and experiences from key leaders in the capital market. With that in place, we look forward to achieving results that will help in developing stock exchanges and enhance their role in supporting a stable and transparent investment environment,” added Shaikh Khalifa.

As part of efforts to develop capital markets, BHB last year signed agreements and MoUs with various GCC stock exchanges and clearing companies to strengthen the link between systems and institutions.

The BHB chief executive said the exchange is keen to play its role in the new national economic recovery plan announced by the government late last year, which would see $30 billion of investment in strategic projects.

The plan also aims to attract $2.5bn in foreign direct investment by 2023, create 20,000 Bahraini jobs and train 10,000 Bahrainis annually until 2024.

Bahrain Bourse is a major component of the financial services sector, which, along with oil and gas, tourism, logistics, telecommunications, IT and digital economy, and manufacturing, has been earmarked as a priority under the plan.

Shaikh Khalifa said the Bahrain Bourse will work closely with other stock exchanges to issue joint guidelines on key trending topics including, but not limited to, ESG, special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), market data monetisation and investor passporting to ensure harmonisation of markets.

Also expected to come up during the event are talks aimed at ensuring that Mena capital markets regulations are in line with key industry setters including the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and IOSCO.

More than 350 attendees from Arab exchanges, financial market regulatory bodies, brokerage firms, investment fund managers, economic journalists, and a number of global financial and development institutions are expected to attend the virtual event.

Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).