NEW YORK and MANAMA, Bahrain, May 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and the Bahrain Stock Exchange today announced that they will launch next month the Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index.
The new index, which will launch the first week of June, is a broad benchmark index comprising all stocks that are listed at the Bahrain Stock Exchange, and are available for trading. It was developed jointly by Dow Jones Indexes and Bahrain Stock Exchange, and follows Dow Jones Indexes' transparent and rules-based index methodology.
"The Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index is a natural extension of our activities in the Gulf region to measure the performance of an Arab country," said Lars Hamich, managing director of STOXX Ltd., the joint venture that is responsible for Dow Jones Indexes' business development in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. "The index will also be licensed to investment companies to be used as underlying for financial products."
Mr. Hamich continued, "Dow Jones Indexes is committed to further expand its presence in this region. By enhancing the transparency of the Bahrain market with the launch of the Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index, we expect the country to become even more attractive for local, regional and foreign investors."
"The establishment of the Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index enhances the position of the Kingdom of Bahrain as an internationally recognized financial hub," said Fouad Rashid, director of the Bahrain Stock Exchange. "We expect the Bahrain Stock Exchange to profit from Dow Jones Indexes' expertise with regard to the new index."
Mr. Rashid continued, "We also presume that the companies listed in the index will benefit from the enlarged exposure to the international financial market because investing in these companies is made easier and more transparent through the index."
H.E. Mr. Rasheed Al Maraj, governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA), the central bank and single regulator for the financial services industry said, "BMA is delighted about the Dow Jones Indexes-BSE announcement. Bahrain has built a status over the last 30 years as the pre-eminent financial center in the region, hosting the largest concentration of banks and other financial institutions in the Middle East. The BMA will be continuing to develop a world-class regulatory system that allows innovation and growth to flourish within the best practice procedures of a major international financial center."
Media Contacts
Dow Jones Indexes Journalists may email questions regarding this press release to: PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact a member of the Dow Jones Indexes public relations group:
New York: Sybille A. Reitz, +1-212-597-5735
Frankfurt: Simona Deckers, +49-69-97142894; Nicole Wesch, +49-69-97142893
Bahrain Stock Exchange Contact: Journalists may e-mail queries regarding the press release to: amansoor@bahrainstock.com.
Bahrain: Ali Al Mansoor, +973 17 212 759
Note to Editors:
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, the Dow Jones Asian Titans 50, the Dow Jones Sector Titans, the Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes and is co-owner of the Pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Dow Jones Indexes is part of Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information.
In addition to Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (dowjones.com) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC Universal of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About Bahrain Stock Exchange www.bahrainstock.com
Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) was established in 1987, and officially commenced operations two years later in June 1989. Since then, the BSE has grown to become one of the leading emerging stock markets in the region. Starting off with 29 listed companies back in 1989, this figure grew to 45 in 2004 and included the first non-GCC company to list in the region. The number of Bonds has increased from 1 in 1994 to 19, and Mutual Funds are up from 1 in 1995 to 23 in 2004. The market capitalization has risen from BD1.04 billion (US$2.7 billion) in 1989 to BD 5.1 billion (US$13.57 billion) in 2004. BSE was the first among its GCC peers that opened up to foreign investors back in 1999 as GCC nationals were allowed since then to own up to 100% - and non-GCC investors up to 49%.