The Board Appoints Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa as CEO and Mrs. Afnan Al Zayani as Head of the Executive Committee and Ayman Almoayed as her

The Board of Directors of Bahrain Bourse (BHB) held its third meeting on Sunday, 11th May 2014 chaired by Mr. Yusuf Abdulla Humood, Chairman of BHB.

The Board discussed the topics on the agenda including the latest developments at Bahrain Bourse. The Board reviewed the periodic report on BHB’s performance, other bourses, and GCC stock markets.

The Board approved the appointment of Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa as the Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse as of Sunday, 11th May 2014. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Bourse. Shaikh Khalifa joined BHB in 2010 as the Deputy Director of the Settlement and Central Depositary and IT.

Besides his responsibilities, he was responsible for putting and implementing the strategy of developing the Bourse that was approved by the Board in 2011. Shaikh Khalifa had an active role in restructuring the Bourse to go in line with the Bourse’s vision and objectives.

It is worth mentioning that Shaikh Khalifa is an active member in various international organizations representing BHB. He graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals with a Bachelor’s Degree in the Science of Finance, and has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cass Business School in London.

During the meeting, Mrs. Afnan Rashid Al Zayani was appointed as Head of the Executive Committee, Remuneration, and Nomination, and Mr. Ayman Tawfeeq Almoayed as her Deputy. Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Hassan was appointed as Head of the Audit, Risk, and Corporate Governance Committee, and Mr. Nabeel Khalid Kanoo as his Deputy.

The Board approved the Bourse’s periodic financial results as of 31st March 2013 which showed growth in the revenues generated from trading commissions by 77% compared to the revenues generated in the first quarter of 2013. Results also showed an increase in the total revenues by 9.46% during the first quarter of 2014 compared to the first quarter of 2013.

In addition, the Board discussed the latest developments concerning BHB’s strategic plan, in which they welcomed the final approval of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) on BHB’s “Market Rule”. The Board thanked H.E. Rasheed Al Maraj, the CBB Governor and officials at the CBB for their contribution and assistance in the finalization of Market Rules and also their cooperation in various areas to develop the Capital Markets Sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain and enhance its competitiveness. The approved “Market Rule” allow non-Bahraini brokers to trade in BHB Directly without having a representative office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, given that a clearing member should be appointed to settle transactions executed at the Bourse. The “Market Rule” also re-classifies exceptional cases to four cases instead of the previous 16, while other transactions have to be executed on the trading floor.

In addition, the Board was briefed on the steps taken by BHB to introduce the “Murabaha” program that will be launched in cooperation with CBB & various Islamic banks and institutions.

The Board also discussed the latest developments concerning BHB’s strategic plan, along with the operational plan and its evaluation criteria and made some recommendations in this regard.

The Board discussed the reports and recommendations of the Board’s Committees and decided on actions to be taken. The Board requested the executive committee to conduct various studies on subjects related to the work at BHB.