MANAMA: Bahrain Bourse (BHB) said that it was adopting the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listing rules paving the way for listing the REITs with minimum value of $20million from May 17th 2015.
The Chairman of Bahrain Bourse (BHB), Yusuf Abdulla Humood issued a decree with regards to the rules, published on BHB’s website include the pre-requisites that the REIT has to satisfy in order to be admitted for listing on the Bourse and ensure that they meet the Central Bank of Bahrain’s requirement pursuant to the Financial Trust Law No. (23) of the Year 2006 and Volume 7 of the CBB Rulebook and the rules issued by Bahrain Bourse on REITs.
The rules stipulate the listing requirements that the REIT should comply with at the time of making an application for listing, such as ensuring that the REIT has a minimum asset value of US$20 million or its equivalent in another currency. The rules also state that the REIT or share registrar appointed by the trust shall maintain a register of Unit Holders.
In addition, the rules specify the ongoing obligations that the REIT has to comply with following its listing at BHB including the Directives, circulars, instructions as may be issued by BHB from time to time on the subject of REITs, as well as any disclosures of any information related to the REIT. The rules also stipulate that the REIT shall take all reasonable care to ensure that the sale, issue, repurchase effected by a REIT are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Prospectus and the REIT Listing Rules as well as Volume 7 of the CBB Rulebook and the rules issued by Bahrain Bourse.
The rules stipulate that the REIT shall ensure that investor reports published shall be made available on BHB’s website and in accordance with the disclosure requirements prescribed by the CBB and Bahrain Bourse on REITs.
It is worth mentioning that the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Listing Rules are applicable on both Shari’a compliant REITs as well as conventional REITs, and both individual and institutional investors are allowed to list and trade REITs.