The Central Bank of Bahrain published remarks by Governor Khalid Humaidan setting out priorities for developing Bahrain’s capital markets, citing market capitalisation as indicating substantial growth potential versus regional and international benchmarks. The Governor framed capital market development as a key driver of economic growth and highlighted the CBB’s focus on strengthening market depth and oversight capabilities. Priorities include increasing listings, improving liquidity, and deepening investor participation as part of an ongoing development plan for public equity markets involving national stakeholders. The CBB linked stronger capital markets to higher company valuations, greater foreign capital inflows, and improved capacity for banks to finance small and medium-sized enterprises, alongside continued emphasis on digital transformation, talent development, and ongoing regulatory refinement. The Governor also pointed to upgrades to payment infrastructure and accelerated adoption of Supervisory Technology to support real-time supervision and reduce systemic risk, with new activities assessed against systemic risk management, compliance, consumer protection, and governance principles.

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