The region’s exchanges have operated in adverse economic conditions since the decline of oil prices began in the second half of 2014, and the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) is no exception. However, the apparent stabilisation of global oil prices in 2016 has brought a similar firming of the main index and, after a year of shrinking stock prices, some...
The Bahraini bond and sukuk (Islamic bond) market has been the best performing GCC fixed-income market up until December 2016, returning an average of 8.7% despite a turbulent period which saw oil prices fall to as low as $28 and the country stripped of its investment-grade, long-term issuer rating.
The decline in oil prices since the second half of 2014 has focused attention on the liquidity position of the kingdom’s banking sector, and its consequent ability to achieve lending growth. The issue is a regional rather than a purely local one. The prominence of hydrocarbons revenues on the balance sheets of GCC governments means that they...
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are popular investment instruments in developed markets, but a relatively new phenomenon in GCC exchanges. Nasdaq Dubai became the first exchange in the region to list a REIT in 2014, and in January 2016 Saudi Arabia’s market regulator approved the listing rules that will govern the instruments in the...
The ability of Bahrain’s government to maintain its infrastructure development programme and a GDP per capita of nearly $50,000, according to KPMG, should combine to generate ample opportunities for the kingdom’s banks to grow their assets. However, potential sector expansion is limited by the fact that the domestic market, characterised by a...
Generating liquidity growth is a concern for the management and regulators of exchanges across the region. As markets from Kuwait to Muscat battle for investment flows, the long-term future of the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) depends upon its ability to attract fresh capital to its increasing array of investment instruments. Most of its major...
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