Under the patronage of His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, Bahrain Bourse concluded the Arab Federation of Capital Markets Annual Conference titled ‘’AFCM Annual Conference: Bahrain 2022’’ virtually on the 29th and 30th of March 2022.
The conference highlighted the role of capital markets in supporting and financing strategic projects during the pandemic. The conference also addressed Bahrain Bourse’s efforts to attract foreign investments, the development of CSD services to provide more products and services for investors, ESG disclosures in the region, and the rise of the new RegTech Era.
The conference hosted more than 95 panelists and 19 sessions, and was attended by more than 400 participants from exchanges, regulatory bodies of financial markets, and brokerage firms.
In a keynote speech, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse and AFCM President for the year 2022 said, “The Economic Recovery Plan announced by the Kingdom of Bahrain plays an important role in attracting investments to the country which enhances its competitiveness and supports the local economy. The plan to develop the capital markets, which is part of the Financial Services Sector Development Strategy 2022-2026 will enhance Bahrain Bourse’s role in attracting investments and providing advanced services to both investors and issuers. This will also strengthen cooperation with Arab capital markets and central depositories to increase liquidity in the local market and support the economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Shaikh Khalifa concluded by thanking His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa for his patronage, the sponsors of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets Annual Conference, the organizers from the Arab Federation of Capital Markets, and participants and attendees who contributed to the success of the conference.
Mr. Rami El Dokany, Secretary General of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets said, “The year 2021 was an exceptional year on many different aspects, where global markets started to recover from the impact of the pandemic. The Arab Markets were not an exception, and markets witnessed an increase in market capitalization by 18% to reach to US$ 3.8 trillion. The volume of shares traded also surged by 57% to reach to 1.3 trillion shares. Last year, the region witnessed 23 IPOs with overall returns of US$ 8.1 million. Overall, all Arab markets witnessed a noticeable increase in its indicators, led by the GCC markets in the region.”
The AFCM Conference organizers gratefully recognize the generous support offered by its sponsors, which include premium sponsors Mubasher and DirectFN. Platinum sponsors of the event include Ahli United Bank, SICO B.S.C.(c), and Tamkeen (Labour Fund). Gold sponsors include Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Al Salam Bank, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (BBK) and ADIB Securities. Finally, HSBC Bahrain, Nasdaq, Sanabel Securities, Refinitiv and Wavetec were welcomed as Single Panel Sponsors, Wamid as Supporting Partner, Instinctif as Investor Relations Partner, and Convene as Boardroom Digital Transformation Partner.