OREANDA-NEWS.  Under the patronage and presence of H.E. Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and Mr. Yusuf Abdulla Humood, Chairman of Bahrain Bourse (BHB) along with other VIPs and officials from financial institutions and banks, Bahrain Bourse launched the “Treasury Bills Market” at the bourse on Sunday, 31st January 2016 with the listing of 11 issues in this market issued by the CBB.

H.E. Mr. Rasheed Al-Maraj said that the launch of this market goes in line with the Government’s plan to support and enhance the Capital Markets sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is considered one of the main and vital sectors to the economy. H.E. Mr. Al-Maraj assured the CBB’s commitment to continue developing the legislations and rules governing the Capital Markets sector in accordance to International Standards in a way that will allow more listings of investment instruments and trading them in a well-regulated environment that protects the rights of all related parties thereby enhancing confidence in the legislative infrastructure of the sector and its institutions.

“The CBB is keen to support Bahrain Bourse in order to increase its competitiveness to attract more local and foreign investments that will lead to the prosperity of national economy,” H.E. Mr. Al-Maraj said.

“The CBB is continuously working closely with BHB and related parties to offer innovative products and services to develop and enhance the legislative infrastructure of the Capital Markets sector in order to secure the soundness of the market and ensure that operations are conducted in a fair and transparent manner that protects investors and maintains the rights of all related parties,” H.E. Mr. Al-Maraj added.

Mr. Yusuf Humood expressed his delightedness for the launch of the Treasury Bills market and praised the vital role of the CBB Governor in launching this market. Mr. Humood thanked the officials of the Central Bank of Bahrain for their cooperation in all legislative, legal, and technical aspects that had an effective role in launching the T-Bills market.

“The launch of the Treasury Bills market will play a great role in enhancing cash liquidity in local and foreign banks that deal in Bahraini T-Bills,” Mr. Humood said.

Mr. Humood said that the Treasury Bills market in BHB is considered one of the largest markets in the region, taking in consideration the number of issues currently listed and expected to list in the future.

“This will provide more investment alternatives for all investors to diversify their portfolios and minimize their investment risk. BHB will continue developing the investment environment in order to encourage and facilitate the accessibility of investors to BHB and benefit from the opportunities available in all listed instruments at BHB,” Mr. Humood added.

It is known that Treasury Bills are one of the investment instruments used by governments and central banks for short-term financing with reasonable returns taking in consideration the term of these issues that is usually between 3-12 months. T-Bills are usually issued weekly and monthly, and are considered very low-risk investments for investors.

It is worth mentioning that a Resolution was issued by BHB’s Chairman in respect of introducing the Treasury Bills Market at Bahrain Bourse and adding it to the markets at BHB. The resolution was followed by the approval of the BHB’s CEO on the Guidelines of Trading Treasury-Bills at Bahrain Bourse.