Bahrain Bourse (BHB) was established as a shareholding company according to Law No. 60 for the year 2010 to replace Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) that was established in 1987. Since then, more local public shareholding companies began to operate, reaching their peak in the beginning of the 1980's. During this period, shares of public shareholding companies were being actively traded in a non-offici
al market called "Al Jowhara Market". Such market soon collapsed along with the collapse of the Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash in Kuwait at the beginning of the 80's of the last century. Following the crash, the Bahraini Government in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) prepared a feasibility study to establish an official stock market in Bahrain. As a result of the recommendation of the study, the Bahraini Government established Bahrain Stock Exchange in 1987 according to Amiri Decree No. 4. The Exchange officially commenced operations in June 1989 with 29 Bahraini shareholding companies listed. The only instruments traded at that time were common shares. Since the bourse's establishment in 1989 (formerly Bahrain Stock Exchange), trading was conducted manually through a system called "Auctional Trading" System. Using this system, the broker had to write the bid and offer orders that they receive from the investor on the trading boards at the trading floor. The transaction takes place when the bid and offer prices match. In 1999, BHB implemented the Automated Trading System (ATS) to carry out all the bourse's transactions electronically, replacing the old manual system. In 2002, the legislative and regulatory authority and supervision of BHB was transferred from the Ministry of Commerce to the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in which CBB regulates and supervises all the bourse's activities. With the development of the bourse, government institutions and companies started issuing several investment instruments taking advantage of the legislative and technical infrastructure established by the bourse. Since then, the bourse witnessed the listing and registration of preferred shares, bonds, sukuk, and mutual funds, making it the first bourse to list such instruments in the region. In 2010, Bahrain Bourse moved to its new premises at Bahrain Financial Harbour after preparing the new premises with the latest technological equipment in order to support the bourse's efforts to provide a variety of advanced services that satisfy issuers, brokers and investors.
