inJAz Bahrain Visits BFX Headquarters

Her Highness Executive Director of inJAz Bahrain Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa yesterday visited the headquarters of the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), the first multi‐asset exchange in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, located in the Bahrain Financial Harbour. The visit follows the BFX's successful launch ceremony on Feb 1st, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which was attended by 400 VIPs from across the region.

The inJAz Bahrain delegation - which included Mrs Badria Naqi, Deputy Executive Director ‐ was welcomed by Mr. Jignesh Shah, Group CEO and Chairman of the Financial Technologies Group and Chairman of the BFX and the BCDC and Mr. Arshad Khan, Managing Director and CEO of the BFX and the BCDC, along with a number of senior BFX officials who accompanied Shaikha Hessa on a guided tour. The visit included a visit to the various facilities housed in the BFX premises, including its state‐of‐the‐art trading floor and BFX Training Institute (BFX‐TI).

Shaikha Hessa welcomed the BFX to Bahrain and applauded its unique vision, which is to offer an innovative and pioneering platform which is set to revolutionise trading in the region. She also praised the sophistication and comprehensiveness of the training courses the BFX‐TI offers. Shaikha Hessa also expressed inJAz Bahrain's interest in establishing a long‐term partnership with the BFX around the organisation's many programmes aimed at instilling the spirit of enterprise and leadership in Bahraini youth.

Mr. Jignesh Shah, Chairman of the BFX, expressed his gratitude to Shaikha Hessa for her visit and stressed the BFX's commitment to supporting initiatives aimed at empowering Bahrainis to become leaders in the regional financial sector.

"We look forward to exploring ways in which the BFX can play a leading role as a responsible corporate citizen in tandem with inJAz Bahrain, as we share in their vision," Mr. Shah said. "Providing the highest standard of training to the local and regional business community through the BFX‐TI has been an integral component of the BFX's plans from the very outset. The BFX complements our already exceptional service offering by serving as a wellspring of qualified individuals to meet the demands of
the business sector in Bahrain and beyond,"

Shaikha Hessa commented: "As a volunteer‐led organization, we are constantly engaging with the local business community who help us to expand our program offerings and remain sustainable with their support. Since our inception 6 years ago, our multi‐pillared programs have equipped over 22 thousand Bahraini students with vital skills and knowledge which supplement their formal education and help them flourish both personally and professionally. As such, I am truly delighted to see that the BFX‐TI will serve as a continuum to this endeavour."

The BFX‐TI aims to provide world‐class training and educational courses covering both conventional and Islamic finance which are offered to individuals and corporate clients. The BFX‐TI provides a 360° consultative approach to training across Islamic and conventional finance, leadership and general management. A series of bespoke packages, tailored to the needs of BFX clients will be developed and delivered by its accredited trainers.

For the commencement of trading, the BFX will follow a two‐phased approach whereby its Islamic division - Bait Al Bursa will start its e‐Tayseer platform for general use on the 7th of February 2011, and its conventional segment will start on the 7th March 2011. The BFX opted for this strategy to give market participants sufficient time to market and develop business in the BFX's Islamic sector in advance of launching the conventional market.