SICO appointed as market maker for Bank ABC

Bank ABC has obtained the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) approval to appoint a market maker to enhance the liquidity of the Bank ABC’s share trading on the Bahrain Bourse.  This arrangement was also approved by the Bank’s shareholders during their Ordinary General Assembly meeting last March.

To achieve this goal, Bank ABC has appointed as of 20 June 2018 the Securities and Investment Company BSC (SICO) as the designated market maker with respect to the Bank’s ordinary shares listed on the Bahrain Bourse. According to the market making arrangement, SICO has sole discretion to buy and sell a percentage of Bank ABC shares not exceeding 1% of the total issued share capital, on ABC’s behalf, thereby creating a more dynamic two-way market that will enhance the liquidity of the Bank’s shares for market participants.  

The market making programme with SICO will be in effect for an initial 12-month period following its establishment, so as to enable Bank ABC to gauge the success of the arrangement, but it may be extended thereafter if the Bank’s Board of Directors considers it appropriate. 

“The Bank ABC Group has had a longstanding issue in that the intrinsic value of Bank ABC is not fully reflected in its Bahrain Bourse share price. A number of factors have contributed to this, including the low trading volume of Bank ABC’s ordinary shares on the Bahrain Bourse. The market making mechanism is designed to contribute to tackling this issue,” Dr. Kawan pointed out, also noting an intention to continuously enhance the Group’s approach to investor relations, another essential factor in facilitating market participants full understanding of ABC’s value potential. 

Bank ABC is a leading player in the region’s banking industry and provides innovative wholesale financial products and services that include corporate banking, trade finance, project and structured finance, syndications, treasury products and Islamic banking. It also provides retail banking services through its network of retail banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

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