Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has launched the Bahrain Islamic Index, which includes stocks of listed companies that go in line with shari’ah compliance.

 

The ceremony was held yesterday (September 14) in the presence of Bahrain Bourse chairman Yousuf Abdullah Humood, members of Bahrain Bourse board of directors and Khalid Hamad Al Hamad, the executive director of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in addition to chief executive officers, general managers of listed companies that are computed within the index and a number of Bahrain Bourse officials, said a statement.

 

The launch is a part of the bourse’s efforts towards developing and enhancing the kingdom’s position as a leading regional and international hub in the provision of financial Islamic services, which it has achieved with the guidance of the wise leadership's policies, and the officials concerned with the planning and execution of economic and financial policies, said Humood.

 

The CBB encourages and supports this added value initiative that creates Islamic banking and that will encourage Islamic banks and various types of companies to take new initiatives in the capital market, through mutual funds and securities that comply with the Islamic shari`ah, in addition to the trust that investors will have in this vital sector, said Al Hamad.

 

As many as 17 companies will be computed within the index, all of which are with activities that comply with the shari’ah standards and regulations set by the bourse’s shari’ah committee, said Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, chief executive officer of Bahrain Bourse.

 

Starting from today, investors and parties concerned with the bourse's activity will be able to follow up the index's performance on the bourse's website, and in the trading bulletins issued by the bourse, he said. 

 

"This index will act as a standardised tool, adopted by investors in order to measure the fluctuations of their investment portfolios in the companies computed within the Islamic Index, which will assist them in taking the right decisions regarding these investments in the right time,” said Shaikh Khalifa.

 

The bourse has set a number of technical and financial standards to determine the companies that are computed and will be computed within this index, through a specialized committee which periodically reviews the companies' information, to take the appropriate decision regarding the inclusion or exclusion of these companies from the index computing process, he added. - TradeArabia News Service