CENTRAL Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Governor Khalid Humaidan highlighted the substantial growth opportunity within Bahrain’s capital markets, noting that the kingdom’s market capitalisation signals strong potential compared to regional and international benchmarks.
Mr Humaidan made these remarks during his participation in a fireside chat titled ‘From Vision to Reality: Reshaping the Future of Bahrain’s Capital Markets’ at The Market 2.0 conference held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The event was hosted by Bahrain Bourse in cooperation with the Arab Federation of Capital Markets (AFCM).
During the session, Mr Humaidan underscored that increasing listings, improving liquidity, and deepening investor participation remain as some of CBB’s key priorities and that national stakeholders at all levels are involved in the progress of an ongoing development plan for public equity markets.
He emphasised the wider economic impact of developing Bahrain’s capital markets, noting that stronger markets enhance company valuations, attract foreign capital, and allow banks to provide greater financing with ease to SMEs.
He reiterated that CBB prioritises digital transformation, talent development, and ongoing regulatory refinement to ensure an adaptive and globally aligned ecosystem, assuring that Bahrain’s strong digital infrastructure and skilled talent base can support in positioning the kingdom not only for domestic market needs but also for broader regional financial sector demand.
Mr Humaidan also highlighted CBB’s focus on advancing payment infrastructure and accelerating the adoption of supervisory technology (SupTech) to enhance real-time oversight and reduce systemic risk. He reaffirmed that all new activities are assessed in adherence to core principles of systemic risk management, compliance, consumer protection and governance, enabling the CBB to support innovation while safeguarding the financial system’s integrity.
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