Bahrain Bourse (BHB) held an official bell-ringing ceremony on March 26 at the bourse to inaugurate the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), an innovative equity market designed specifically to offer the region’s companies an alternative cost-and time-effective means for raising capital, TradeArabia reported.
BIM was developed to address two needs in the market: The first being the financing gap faced by fast-growing companies who seek growth capital but don’t meet the criteria of the Bahrain Bourse Mainboard, and the second being the global investors increasing demand to invest in companies in the region, as indicated by the 42 per cent increase in Bahrain Bourse trading volumes from 2015 to 2016.
Start-ups represent the largest and fastest-growing segment of the private sector. According to figures released by Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism earlier this year, the number of commercial registrations in Bahrain nearly tripled, from 9,000 in 2015 to nearly 27,000 in 2016. Therefore, initiatives such as the BIM will fill an important financing gap in the market, the report said.
In addition to access to capital, listed companies will benefit from the implementation of globally-accepted standards for financial auditing and reporting such as the IFRS and AAOIFI, as mandated by the BIM.
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