Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), the first ever multi-asset exchange in the Middle East and North Africa region, will start live operations on February 7.

The BFX is an initiative of Financial Technologies Group, which owns one of the largest networks of 10 exchanges connecting fast-growing economies of Africa, Middle East, India and SE Asia. The exchange is regulated by Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

BFX will adopt a phased approach to its trading whereby its Islamic division – Bait Al Bursa will start its e-Tayseer platform for general use on February 7, and its conventional segment will start on March 7, said a BFX statement.

This two phased approach is designed to give market participants sufficient time to market and develop business in the BFX’s Islamic sector in advance of launching the conventional market.

The official launch of the BFX will be marked by a ceremony held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Prime Minister of Bahrain on February 1.

After two years of highly focussed and involved hard work, the BFX is set to revolutionise trading in the Mena region, said a senior official.

The BFX will be a unique global exchange where multi-asset class instruments will commence trading on a single exchange environment offering its users Islamic products, currencies, commodities and equity indices in its first phase of live operations.

The launch of the BFX will include the start of operations of Bait Al Bursa, the BFX’s Islamic division, as well as the BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC).

It will provide the region with a fully integrated electronic trading platform, with a plug and trade trading floor, which will be internationally accessible to trade securities, structured products, Shariah-compliant financial instruments and derivatives.

The BFX provides a unique opportunity for the MENA financial services sector to link-in with established markets and take a step forward on the global financial services stage. This accomplishment of the development and implementation of the BFX in only two years is viewed as a landmark achievement.

Jignesh Shah, CEO and chairman of the Financial Technologies Group and chairman of the BFX and the BCDC, said: 'The first day of trading for the BFX will be a momentous event for the financial services industry in the Mena region, and I am honoured that Prince Khalifa has given his patronage to this important occasion.'

'When we started the project, we recognised that there was a gap in the market and that the Mena financial sector needs to have a fully functioning multi-asset exchange to be able to fulfil its true international potential. We were delighted to set-up in Bahrain under the watchful regulation of the CBB, and we know that the hard work and dedication of the team here will lead to real benefits for the whole region,' he noted.

He thanked the Bahrain Government, the CBB and the Economic Development Board of Bahrain for their support in putting this unique project together.

Welcoming the initiative, Abdul Rahman Al Baker, executive director of the Financial Institutions Directorate at the CBB, said, 'By providing a multi-asset platform for trading financial instruments, particularly those that are Shariah compliant; the BFX sits squarely with Bahrain’s long-term development strategy which is to encourage a strong, competitive and well-diversified financial sector.'

When it launches, the Exchange will already have 10 tradable products on its conventional platform, including commodities, currencies and equity indices as well as e-Tayseer on its Islamic platform.

It will offer traders and investors real portfolio diversification from day one.  Set-up in a purpose built exchange building, which has state of the art technology and facilities; the physical exchange is being supported by a global business and sales development programme, which includes the opening of an accredited training institute (BFX-TI).

'We are proud and delighted to see the BFX moving from concept to reality. Setting-up a multi-asset exchange with conventional and Islamic products serving participants across the Mena market has not been an easy task to accomplish,' remarked Arshad Khan, managing director & chief executive officer of the BFX and the BCDC.

'Drawing from the strength of our promoters, our regulator, members and employees, we are pleased that we have achieved this feat in only two years. The launch of the exchange will signal a significant and beneficial change in the way financial services in the Mena region operate and interact with global markets,' he noted.

'The exchange has a unique business model which will draw liquidity from across the region into a range of asset classes. Every element of the BFX, Bait Al Bursa, the BFX Training Institute and the BCDC has been designed to deliver a self sufficient and self sustaining business built around robust technology and risk management,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service