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Find out moreReal estate, construction, and hospitality are at the forefront of transformation across the Middle East – reshaping cities, driving investment, and demanding increasingly sophisticated legal frameworks.
In the June edition of Law Update, we take a closer look at the legal shifts influencing the sector – from Dubai’s new Real Estate Investment Funds Law and major reforms in Qatar, to Bahrain’s push toward digitalisation in property and timeshare regulation. We also explore practical issues around strata, zoning, joint ventures, and hotel management agreements that are critical to navigating today’s market.
As the landscape becomes more complex, understanding the legal dynamics behind these developments is key to making informed, strategic decisions.
2025 is set to be a game-changer for the MENA region, with legal and regulatory shifts from 2024 continuing to reshape its economic landscape. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain are all implementing groundbreaking reforms in sustainable financing, investment laws, labor regulations, and dispute resolution. As the region positions itself for deeper global integration, businesses must adapt to a rapidly evolving legal environment.
Our Eyes on 2025 publication provides essential insights and practical guidance on the key legal updates shaping the year ahead—equipping you with the knowledge to stay ahead in this dynamic market.
Rad El Treki - Partner, Head of Office - Bahrain - Corporate Structuring / Corporate / Mergers and Acquisitions
May 2017
The Bahrain Bourse is an institution licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (being the public corporation empowered to regulate the financial sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain) (“CBB”) as a self-regulatory organisation, entrusted with operating the stock exchanges in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The development and launch of BIM by the Bahrain Bourse is in accordance with its stated goals of furthering Bahrain’s position as a regional financial hub, stimulating the capital markets sector in the Kingdom, and to fostering a market to help fast-growing companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain and beyond (admission to the BIM is not restricted to companies incorporated in Bahrain). There are no nationality restrictions on persons wishing to invest in and trade in shares of companies listed on the BIM.
The primary rules governing and regulating the BIM are the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM) Rules 2016 (the “BIM Rules”). Whilst the Rules have been approved by the CBB, the body enforced with interpreting, administering and enforcing the rules is the Bahrain Bourse. The BIM Rules provide details of the requirements to be satisfied by a legal entity seeking admission to and listing on the BIM together with the sale of its shares to the public, and the requirements that must thereafter be satisfied on an ongoing basis by entities listed on the BIM. As with other comparable listing rules, the BIM Rules are not deemed to be exhaustive, and the Bahrain Bourse are empowered to make admission subject to additional conditions, and/or impose additional requirements.
The process for admission to and listing on BIM
The streamlined process which a listing applicant will go through to offer its shares for sale to the public and to be admitted to and listed on the BIM can be summarised as follows:
Some key requirements for admission and listing
The key requirements to be satisfied by a listing applicant to be admitted to and listed on the BIM include the following:-
Upon acceptance for admission to the BIM, the listing applicant may proceed with the sale of its shares as per its Listing Document/s.
Some other points to note
Conclusion
The BIM provides an innovative platform for growing companies to quickly and efficiently raise the capital they require for their continued growth and development, without having to satisfy the extensive regulatory requirements applicable to a listing on the main GCC stock exchanges. At the same time, investors should take considerable re-assurance from the focussed nature of the BIM Rules, the exemplary track record of the Bahrain Bourse and the CBB. Bahrain enjoys a consistently high ranking in terms of the transparency and robustness of the general regulatory framework, and has a proven track record and reputation as a major financial hub for the region and beyond.
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