SICO retains top broker status on stock exchange

11/02/2016 07:59 AST

Securities & Investment Company (Sico), licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional wholesale bank, announced it has retained its status as the leading broker on the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) for the 17th consecutive year.

The firm said last year it handled 4,651 transactions on the BHB involving 269.7 million shares with a total value of BD71.2m, constituting a market share of 32.4 per cent.

Through its focus on serving active institutional investors with large trading books, Sico continued to be the preferred broker for large trades, and executed most of the major deals on the bourse during the year.

This included managing the purchase of 25.6m ordinary shares of Takaful International Company in two tranches, equivalent to 41pc of the company’s outstanding shares. “In our 20th anniversary year, we are delighted to have maintained our leading position on the Bahrain Bourse,” Sico chief executive Najla Al Shirawi said.

“As an increasing number of local, regional and foreign investors seeks to access Gulf stock exchanges; Sico is ideally equipped with the right team, skills and knowledge to advise clients on investment opportunities in such challenging market conditions, with diligent and efficient execution.

“Sico continues to offer investors access to listed investment opportunities throughout the GCC, where we have also undertaken some of the largest trades in regional markets.”

The brokerage product lines comprise direct trading services offered out of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi (through its subsidiary – Sico UAE); pan-GCC trading accounts and other select Mena and international markets; and agency services covering GCC markets.

The brokerage also provides value-added advisory services, supported by in-depth market, sector and company research and analysis capabilities.

According to Ms Al Shirawi, the one-stop-shop service, provided by a dedicated team, offers competitive commissions with no mark-up of official market rates. Having established a significant share of overall GCC market trades, Sico remains firmly placed among the leading brokers in the region.

“Our brokerage business showed great resilience during the year, posting another positive performance and continuing to contribute to the bottom line,” Sico head of brokerage Fadhel Makhlooq pointed out.

Gulf Daily News