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Issue 12 - JUNE 2017
www.bahrainbourse.comBUSINESSMEN SEE “BAHRAIN INVESTMENT MARKET” AS
AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS
Bahrain Bourse (BHB) contin-
ued its stakeholder engagement
and awareness roadshow about
the newly-launched Bahrain
Investment Market (BIM), an
equity market for growing busi-
ness ventures in Bahrain and
the wider MENA region, with
a presentation on (Wednesday,
April 26) for members of the
Bahrain Family Business Associ-
ation (BFBA) and Bahrain Busi-
nessmen’s Association (BBMA).
Speaking at the event, CEO of the
Bahrain Bourse, Shaikh Khalifa bin
Ebrahim Al Khalifa said, “Family
businesses and fast-growing en-
trepreneurial ventures stand to
benefit greatly from the Bahrain
Investment Market. Its model is
designed to enable business own-
ers to raise capital quickly and at a
relatively low cost while remaining
largely in control of management
and decision-making processes.”
Family businesses remain a signif-
icant contributor to Arab econ-
omies. According to recent stud-
ies, family businesses account for
about 85% of the Arab World’s
non-oil GDP. In Bahrain, this
category constitutes around 95%
of all private sector businesses.
President of the BFBA Khalid
Kanoo said, “Family businesses
are strategically important to the
national economy. Hence, it is
critical to have initiatives such the
Bahrain Investment Market which
enable these businesses to enhance
their corporate governance and
scale up their operations in or-
der to become more competitive
in today’s globalized economy.”
For his part, Chairman of the
BBMA Ahmed bin Hindi not-
ed, “One of the major factors
which contribute to private sector
growth is access to a wide range
of financing sources that cater
to a wide range of private sector
segments. The Bahrain Invest-
ment Market is a welcome addi-
tion that will help fill an import-
ant financing gap for companies
who want to publicly list but are
not yet able to meet the Bahrain
Bourse Mainboard’s criteria.”