BHBNewsLetter March 2020

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Issue 23 - MARCH 2020
BAHRAIN BOURSE ADOPTS ITS NEW LISTING RULES
As part of Bahrain Bourse’s
(“BHB”) continuous efforts to
develop the Capital Market in
the Kingdom of Bahrain, and in
pursuance of Central Bank of
Bahrain Resolution No. (11) of
2018 for the implementation of
the Self-Regulatory Organization
(SRO) , Bahrain Bourse published
the new Listing Rules on 13 th
January 2020. The new listing
rules aim to clarify the regulatory
and organizational framework
governing all operational aspects
of Bahrain Bourse, particularly
future listings. The new Listing
Rules will be effective immediately,
allowing for companies currently
listed on the market a grace
period of 3 months to abide by
the requirements of the new rules.
The new listing rules apply to all
listed securities which are currently
listed on the market as well as
those interested to list on Bahrain
Bourse. The new listing rules aim
to regulate the offering of securities
in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which
includes the conditions of the
offer of securities and identifies the
requirements of listing and offering,
as well as the conditions and
requirements of capital changes.
In addition, the rules regulate the
continuing obligations on issuers
whom their securities are listed
in the Main Market as well as
the suspension of trading listed
securities and delisting of listed
securities. Further, the Listing
Rules also govern the listing of
Exchange Traded Funds as well as
Real Estate Investment Funds. In
accordance with the Listing Rules,
BHB shall become the “main point
of contact” for all Applicants and
Issuers for matters pertaining the
listing application and ongoing
obligations, in which issuers of
securities and financial instruments
interested to list on Bahrain
Bourse are required to submit their
listing application and supporting
documents to Bahrain Bourse
directly. The Bourse will then
discuss the outcomes of the
application review with the
Central Bank of Bahrain’s Capital
Markets Supervision Directorate,
in a period not exceeding 28 days
from the application submission
date. The Listing Rules also specify
the ongoing obligations that
Issuers have to comply with
following listing on Bahrain Bourse
including maintaining a Free Float
of at least 10% of the total issued
outstanding shares. In addition,
an Issuer must sign the deposit
of securities agreement with
Bahrain Clear, in accordance
to article (94) of the CBB Law
prior to the listing of its Securities.
In addition, BHB may discretionally
impose administrative fines on
Issuers for any non-compliance
with Listing Rules and any other
applicable BHB rules, regulations
and Directives. The rules also state
that all Issuers must have effective
systems and internal complaint
p r o c e du r e s f o r h and l i ng
o f c omp l a i n t s ma d e by
their investors, as per CBB
Rulebook Volume 6 - Dispute
Resolution, Arbitration and
D i s c i p l i n a r y P r o c e e d i ng s
Module. The Bourse Investigation
Committee (BIC) shall receive
complaints which constitute
a violation to BHB’s law.
BAHRAIN BOURSE ENHANCES CORPORATE ACTION TIMELINE
As part of Bahrain Bourse’s
(“BHB”) continuous efforts to
develop the Capital Market in
the Kingdom of Bahrain, and
in relation to the Listing Rules
published on 13th January 2020 and
recent amendments to requirements
under CBB Disclosure Standards,
Bahrain Bourse would like to no-
tify shareholders of all listed com-
panies of amendments put in place
for providing specific timeframes
in relation to recommendation
of declaration of dividends. The
corporate action timelines
amendments aim to provide further
flexibility for shareholders to
conduct their trading transactions
post the recommendation of
declaration of dividends announced
during the General Meeting date.
The Listing Rules published on 13th
January 2020 along with Central
Bank of Bahrain’s amendments
in relation to Corporate Actions
timeline (has been implemented
with an objective to enhance the
existing practice and eliminate any
potential redundancy and ambi-
guity with respect to the timeline
mechanism of declaration
and payment of dividends and
Bonus shares if any. Further, the
amendments have been put in
place in line with international
best practices and to achieve
c on s en s u s a c ro s s ma r ke t
participants. The amendments
of corporate action timelines
a n d m e c h a n i s m p r o -
vides specific timeframes in
relation to recommendation
of declaration of a dividend
(including bonus shares, if any),
the rate and amount per share,
the Record Date, the Cum-
Dividend Date, the Ex-Dividend
Date and the Payment Date.
The amended corporate action
timelines, which came into effect
as of December 2019, requires that
the Cum-Dividend Date falls at
least one trading day (excluding the
date of the general meeting) after
the date of the general meeting.
Issuers must ensure payment of
declared dividends to shareholders,
whose names are registered in
the company’s share register on
the Record Date, no later than 10
trading days from the Record Date.