Dubai, Bahrain Bourses To Simplify Share Transfer

Stock exchanges of Dubai and Bahrain will introduce a new, simplified way of transferring shares between the two bourses next year, Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the operator of the emirate’s main exchange, said on Wednesday.

Shares of three Bahraini companies – Gulf Finance House, Al Salam Bahrain Bank and Arab Insurance Group – are listed on DFM and accounted for one tenth of the bourse’s traded value this year, DFM said.

“It has been agreed to introduce the new electronic system during the second half of 2015, enabling swift share transfers to be executed during the official working hours of the exchanges,” it said.

“The system will not require any official correspondence regarding share transfer, validation and endorsement.”

Dubai’s bourse is much more liquid than Bahrain’s, although that also makes it more volatile. Dubai’s benchmark is down 8.5 percent year-to-date while Bahrain’s index is up 10.4 percent.