The Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) was established in 1987 by Amiri Decree No.(4) and officially commenced operations on June 17, 1989, with 29 listed companies. Currently, there are 50 companies listed on the exchange. The BSE operates as an autonomous institution supervised by an independent Board of Directors, chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The BSE has pre-market sessions from 9:15am to 9:30am and normal trading sessions from 9:30am to 12:30pm, from Sunday to Thursday, except for holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

There are three indices that track the BSE: the Bahrain All Share Index, the Dow Jones Bahrain Index and the Estirad Index.

Foreign ownership of securities

Currently, foreigners can purchase, own or sell bonds, units of mutual funds, and warrants of domestic joint-stock companies. Foreigners who reside in Bahrain for one year or more are entitled to purchase, own, and/or trade up to 49% of a domestic joint-stock company’s equities. However, an individual foreigner may not own more than 1% of a company’s issued capital. There are ten companies that are completely open to foreign investors; Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), Arab Insurance Group  (ARIG), Ahli United Bank  (AUB), Al Baraka Banking Group

Al Baraka Banking Group

Al Baraka Banking Group was formed in 2002 in Manama, Bahrain. The company is listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and Dubai NASDAQ Al, the group offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Shari'a in 12...

  (BARKA), Bahrain Middle East Bank  (BMB), Ithmaar Bank

Ithmaar Bank

Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange . It has a total equity of US$1.2 billion and is a full investment bank with business spanning the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, as well as Asia-Pacific and Europe...

 (ITHMR), Investcorp Bank (INVCORP), Bahrain Shamil Bank (SHAMIL), Al Salam Bank (SALAM), and TAIB Bank (TAIB). Foreign security holders are legally entitled to enjoy all the benefits of the ownership of securities of domestic joint-stock companies. They have voting rights on all matters submitted for approval, and receive dividends and other distributions without being subject to taxation .

Practice governing trading and settlement of securities

Securities listed on the Exchange, with certain exceptions, must be traded on the floor through registered brokers. The specific standards of due care and diligence, which are needed in the execution of transactions and in the safeguarding of customers' funds and securities, are imposed under the terms of the BSE's laws and by-laws which are adhered to by the brokers and dealers.

Settlement of sales and purchases of securities

Settlement and transfer of ownership of domestic joint stock securities is undertaken through the Exchange in accordance with simple and straightforward procedures. The sale and purchase of a security creates a binding contract on the part of the seller to deliver the security and on the part of the purchaser to make payment on the settlement date, i.e. within two days after the trading date, (T + 2). The BSE management is continuously monitoring and reviewing the Exchange’s existing laws and procedures in an effort to further develop and enhance its contribution to the economy

Economic system

An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...

 of Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

.

Commercial banks sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
AUB	Al-Ahli United Bank
AUB.PREF.A	AUB Class A Preference Share
SALAM	Al Salam Bank
BISB	Bahrain Islamic Bank
BBK	Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait B.S.C. was established in 1971 in both the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait. Its shareholders consist of the general public and government of Bahrain, and banks and investment companies in Kuwait...
NBB	National Bank of Bahrain National Bank of Bahrain National Bank of Bahrain was established in 1957 as the first indigenous bank in Bahrain. A nation-wide network of 25 branches, 46 ATMs and over 4,000 Point of Sale terminals in addition to their branches in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh makes NBB the leading provider of commercial and retail banking...
BSB	The Bahraini Saudi Bank

Investment sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
BARKA	Al Baraka Banking Group Al Baraka Banking Group Al Baraka Banking Group was formed in 2002 in Manama, Bahrain. The company is listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and Dubai NASDAQ Al, the group offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Shari'a in 12...
INOVEST	Inovest
ABC	Arab Banking Corporation
BCFC	Bahrain Commercial Facilities
BMB	Bahrain Middle East Bank
ESTERAD	Esterad Investment Company
GFH	Gulf Finance House Gulf Finance House Gulf Finance House is an Islamic investment bank with headquarters in Bahrain Financial Harbour, Bahrain.Gulf Finance House was Euromoneys "Best Islamic Real Estate Finance House" in 2005 and Arabian Businesss "Bank of the Year" in 2006....
GMG	Gulf Monetary Group
INVCORP	Investcorp Bank
ITHMR	Ithmaar Bank Ithmaar Bank Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange . It has a total equity of US$1.2 billion and is a full investment bank with business spanning the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, as well as Asia-Pacific and Europe...
TAIB	TAIB Bank
UGB	United Gulf Bank
UGIC	United Gulf Industries Corporation
SICO-C	Securities and Investment Company

Insurance sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
BKIC	Bahrain & Kuwait Insurance Company
AHLIA	Al-Ahlia Insurance Company
AIIC	Arab International Insurance Company
TAKAFUL	Takaful International Company
ARIG	Arab Insurance Group
BNH	Bahrain National Holding Company

Services sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
BASREC	Bahrain Ship Repairing & Engineering Company
CPARK	Bahrain Car Park Company
CINEMA	Bahrain Cinema Company
DUTYF	Bahrain Duty Free Shop Complex
BMMI	Bahrain Maritime & Mercantile International
BATELCO	Bahrain Telecommunications
TRAFCO	General Trading & Food Processing Company
Nass	Nass Corporation

Industrial sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
BFM	Bahrain Flour Mills Company
POLTRY	Delmon Poultry Company

Hotels & tourism sector

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
FAMILY	Bahrain Family Leisure Company
BHOTEL	Bahrain Hotels Company
BTC	Bahrain Tourism Company
SEEF	Seef Properties B.S.C.
BANADER	Banader Hotels Company
NHOTEL	National Hotels Company

Overseas companies

Stock symbol	Company	Notes
BMUSC	Bank Muscat
GLOBAL	Global Investment House
IIG	International Investment Group
SDTL	Sudan Telecommunications Company Sudatel Sudatel is a telecommunications and Internet service provider in the Sudan. The company is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Sudan's telecom infrastructure. Sudatel is more than 60% owned by the Sudanese government; the remainder being owned by private interests...
UFC	United Finance Company

External links

• Official site of the Bahrain Stock Exchange