Bahrain Bourse holds TradeQuest Challenge Ceremony

Under the patronage of H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani, the Minister of Industry, Commerce, & Tourism and the Minister in Charge of Bahrain Bourse and the presence of H.E. Rasheed Moh’d Al-Maraj, the CBB Governor, the final TradeQuest Awards Ceremony was held on Saturday, 2nd of April 2016 where 80 students took part in the "TradeQuest Challenge", organized by Bahrain Bourse, were honored at the ceremony. The ceremony was attended by students and their families, senior representatives from sponsoring organizations, other invited guests, as well as the officials of the bourse.

On this occasion, H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani said that he is impressed with the TradeQuest program and its role in enhancing education in the Kingdom of Bahrain by developing students’ trends toward investment. The Minister also said that the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain pays more attention to education that considers the human factor as the main factor in developing the economy and community as a whole.
"I personally believe that the TradeQuest program is a unique and aspiring experience for the students that took part in it, as well as the investment advisors and school advisors, especially that most of those who participated in the program in the past have taken leading roles in many institutions today," H.E. Zayed Alzayani added.
H.E. Zayed Alzayani announced that BD10,000 will be allocated for the three winning teams as of next year, in which BD5,000 for the first place winner, BD3,000 for the second place winner, and BD2,000 for the third place winner.

"TradeQuest is one of the unique programs adopted by Bahrain Bourse that aims at increasing investment awareness, along with other initiatives that aim at achieving the same goal such as TradeQuest for university students, and the "Smart Investor" program that targets elementary school students." H.E. Zayed Alzayani said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa thanked H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani for his patronage and attendance to the ceremony. Sh. Khalifa also thanked H.E. the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain for his attendance and support to the TradeQuest Awards Ceremony which truly reflects the importance of the the program and the support that it gets from the officials in the Government of Bahrain which in return motivates us, as Bahrain Bourse, to continue organizing and developing this program to benefit all related parties.

Shaikh Khalifa assured, "We are looking forward to increase the cooperation and collaboration with various parties in order to launch more initiatives that aim at introducing saving and investment concepts to students in a way that will contribute to increasing their awareness of the role of institutions and other parties related to the economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain."
Shaikh Khalifa praised the support of the organizations sponsoring the program, and their commitment to the program since its launch in 1997, and thanked all the students, school advisors, and investment advisors who participated in the program, and wished them success.

H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani, the Minister of Industry, Commerce, & Tourism and the Minister in Charge of Bahrain Bourse presented Bahrain Bourse’s Trophy and first place overall winner award to St. Christopher’s School. Ibn Khuldoon National School came second place, followed by Abdulrahman Kanoo International School in third place.

During the ceremony, Naseem International School was awarded the certificate for "Best Financial Performance" and "Highest Return" at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Al Wisam International School was awarded the certificate for the "Lowest Volatility" at NYSE. St. Christopher’s School received the certificate for the "Lowest Volatility" at Bahrain Bourse. Ibn Khuldoon National School achieved the "Best Financial Performance" certificate at Bahrain Bourse, and Al Noor Secondary Girls School won the "Highest Return" certificate at Bahrain Bourse. Naseem International School won the "Best Overall Financial Performance" certificate, while Abdulrahman Kanoo International School was awarded with the "Best Presentation" certificate.

TradeQuest is a simulated business-education partnership program that focuses on investment trading in world financial markets, which operated for the first time in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1996 in cooperation with financial institutions and educational parties.

The programme is geared to give high school students close-to-life experience in the stock markets, with focus on understanding the rules and regulations implemented in those stock markets, the analysis and selection of stocks, and portfolio management for equities listed on NYSE and BHB.

The TradeQuest 2015/2016 program includes 10 school teams, and they are Abdul Rahman Kanoo International School, Bahrain School, Ghazi Al-Gosaibi Secondary Girls School, Ibn Khuldoon National School, Naseem International School, Al Hidd Secondary Girls School, Al Noor International School, Al Noor Secondary Girls School, St. Christopher's School and Al Wisam International School.

Several financial and banking institutions in Bahrain sponsored the TradeQuest program and they are: Ahli United Bank, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, Securities and Investment Company (SICO), Investcorp Bank, Gulf International Bank (GIB), and Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF).