Dow Jones Bahrain is on the way

Hi, good news for the financial sector, enjoy:

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and the Bahrain Stock Exchange yesterday announced that they will launch the Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index next month. The new index, which will be launched in the first week of June, is a broad benchmark index comprised of all stocks that are listed at the Bahrain Stock Exchange, and are available for trading.

It is 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, 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," he said.

"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."

Bahrain Stock Exchange director Fouad Rashid said the establishment of the Dow Jones Bahrain Stock Exchange Index enhances Bahrain's position as an internationally recognised financial hub.

"We expect the Bahrain Stock Exchange to profit from Dow Jones Indexes expertise with regard to the new index," he said.

"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."