MANAMA, 2 December 2007 — The Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE), with a market capitalization of BD9.6 billion, announced a bumper crop with a listed companies profits rising to BD736.5 million in nine months.

The quarterly statistics released by the BSE showed that Bahraini public shareholding companies listed on the bourse achieved a net profit of BD736.5 million during the first nine months of 2007 compared with BD509.2 million in the corresponding period last year, marking a growth of 44.7 percent.

The exceptional financial gains for the public shareholding companies, according to experts, was a results of strong economic indicators, thanks to level playing field and the best regulatory regime.

The investors said that despite the small size of the stock exchange, the robust financial gains have boosted the confidence of investors. The experts said that the nine months performance will help to enhance the base of investments and there would be more investments by the end of the year in all vital sectors.

The investment sector led the sectors in terms of profits, with BD417.6 million followed by the commercial banking sector with BD182.8 million, the services sector with BD110 million, insurance sector with BD13.2 million, the hotels and tourism sector with BD11.1 million and the industrial sector with BD1.7 million.

In terms of profit growth, investment was at the top with 61.3 percent compared to the same period last year followed by commercial banking sector with 38.4 percent, hotels and tourism sector with 35 percent, industrial sector with 21.6 percent and services sector with 16.2 percent. Industrial sector’s profits, however, decreased by 4.7 percent.

The positive results reflect the growth and development of the economy in Bahrain especially in attracting investments.